


Soul's Road

by Nyxed



Category: Sons of Anarchy
Genre: Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Angst, Canon-Typical Violence, Dark Comedy, Dark Humor, Drama, Dysfunctional Family, Explicit Language, F/M, Family Drama, Gen, Organized Crime, Other, Platonic Female/Male Relationships, Platonic Relationships, Recreational Drug Use, Romance, Sexual Content, Trust Issues, Violence, developing relationships
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2012-06-19
Updated: 2017-01-05
Packaged: 2017-11-08 02:23:38
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 24,883
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/438095
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nyxed/pseuds/Nyxed
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Maddison Madock finds a letter addressed to Gemma Teller amongst her mother's possessions, she decides to head to Charming. Never in a million years would she have thought that a task as simple as delivering a letter would end up changing her life forever. </p><p>Eventual Tig / OC</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> So this is my first ever Sons of Anarchy fanfiction. I got into the show a few months back and I have been itching to write a story ever since. This is what happens while I'm watching an SOA marathon on the computer at 4 AM. I've got a lot of ideas for this story, so this is just the beginning. I hope you guys enjoy it.

" _When were you going to tell me that you got fired? I set you up at that job and this is how you repay me? What happened to that little girl I raised? Where did she go!"_

Maddison shut her tired hazel eyes, as if it would somehow turn off the argument which was replaying itself in her mind. It was funny, that argument had taken place 5 years ago. The last time she'd ever spoken to her mother. Her last words to the woman had been a bitter 'fuck you' as her beloved sketchbooks were thrown from the fourth story balcony and onto the cement below. Pages torn, scattered, ruined almost instantly by the pouring rain. Her heart and her soul lay at her feet. That was the night she left home. She had been eighteen then; she wasn't a bad kid, but she fit the rebellious teen mold just enough to cause a serious rift between herself and her mother.

Karen Madock had raised Maddison with an iron fist. A single mother in a small Bible belt town, she had the world against her. That was the excuse that people had given her when Madds and Karen fought. They would say that she needed to give her more respect—that she needed to be more loving. The thing was that she did respect her mother – at least she tried. But the older she got, the harder that got. Every minute of Maddison's life was on a schedule. Dance, music, soccer, band, she'd been thrown into every extracurricular activity known to man. Karen worked as the mayor's personal assistant and it paid well. They lived comfortably enough, but money couldn't buy everything. Like happiness.

Karen was not an easy person to get along with. She was much like Maddison's grandmother, Rose. Stubborn, controlling, they were tough women to love. Maddison and Karen began clashing early on. It started with clothing, and then boys. Eventually it was her grades, then job applications, and then her dreams for the future. It didn't go past that. Her mother wanted a doctor or a lawyer, someone to be proud of. Maddison was smart and she'd gotten good grades.

If she'd been passionate about a professional life like her mother had dreamt up for her, she could have gotten there easily enough. However, she didn't want a 9-5 job. She didn't want to have to wear a suit or save lives. She wanted to be an artist.

Since the time she first picked up a crayon to the day she graduated, she had always been passionate about the arts. She loved theatre and dance. Music was amazing, but her skills laid elsewhere. She couldn't play the guitar or hold a note (not very well at least) but she could draw. She could paint. Give her a piece of charcoal and you got something amazing in return. Karen didn't like that. What type of life could an artist have? Drawing for a living?

It all came to a head one rainy night when news of Maddison's unemployment made it home. Her mother had gotten her a part-time job at the council office as a secretary. She had shown up a few times, but sitting behind a desk and answering the phones all day didn't exactly keep her entertained. It didn't even pay well. She'd spend her time drawing or reading. Off in another world entirely. That job had lasted three weeks.

Five years ago and it still felt like yesterday. Maddison had been kicked out that night, and now she was on her own. What little money she had eventually took her to another small town. She couldn't afford to go any further and she didn't have any other family. She was sure that her grandmother wouldn't help, and if she wouldn't then there was no way her grandfather would. Her father was probably dead in a ditch—she had never met him. She had an aunt out there somewhere, but her mother had seen to it that she didn't play a part in Maddison's life. The other Madock daughter had walked a radically different path.

She ended up doing odd jobs in town. She worked as a bartender, though she wasn't technically legal. The owner said as long as she didn't drink the merchandise or make a scene, then the cops wouldn't look into it. During the day she spent a lot of time at the park with her easel. Her pay went towards a crappy little apartment and new art supplies.

One day, she was drawing when a man approached her. He was older—perhaps well into his late forties—with black jeans and cowboy boots. He was heavily tattooed, and had a buzz cut and goatee. He was a big guy with a curt voice, and the first time she heard it, she nearly jumped clean out of her skin. He was intimidating as hell. She had seen him around town, but she didn't know his name.

As it turned out, it was Richard. He owned the tattoo parlour in town; the best in the county, apparently. He said that he'd seen her work around the little diner that fed the town, and when he asked about it, the server gushed about her. Maddison ate there frequently, and the cooks and waitresses probably knew her better than anyone else in the state did. He found out that she spent her days on a park bench with a book or easel, and it turned out he had a proposition for her.

Richard had been impressed with her work, said she had real potential. To this day, Maddison wasn't sure why, but he offered her a place at his shop on the spot. He mentioned that he was looking for an apprentice. Having a helping hand at the parlour would be a plus, and he had a lot to teach – _if_ she was interested.

Without a second thought she accepted. It had been something she'd considered at one point, being a tattoo artist. Truly creating lasting pieces of art? But of course, not something Karen had allowed her to give much thought to.

She spent four years working with Richard. She soon learned that the more time she spent in the shop the more she fell in love with it. Richard, as it turned out, was sort of a big deal. He'd studied art all over the world. He'd been tattooed by monks and tribesmen, which indicated that he was well-respected and adored. Not to mention that they got along well. He let her into his world, but in the strictly platonic sense. He was married, had been for a decade when she'd met him. His wife Koraline was the _secretary_. She was nice, and rather motherly. Maddison never would have admit it, but Richard and his wife had almost become like surrogate parents in her life.

Working at the shop and spending time around Richard meant that she was introduced to a whole new world. His best and most loyal clients were bikers. Not just any wannabes who road flashy little roadsters and neon leather jackets. They were _real bikers_ —the 'local' MC.

Richard had come to town because of them. He did every official piece for the members as well as others on the side. The guys were gruff, but nice. Richard had given Maddison a crash course on 'biker 101'. He made it very clear that if they liked her, she would go far. Working with the MC, or even being on their good side, had its benefits. It wasn't just invites to the wildest damn parties she'd ever seen, but it was more. Protection if needed, another (and better paying ) bartending gig if she wanted, and a family.

As time went on she grew closer to Richard and the club. She was learning fast and after a few years, she got her first few clients. Everything had been fine. She had friends, enough money to get by, a job she liked—all the good stuff.

But for a second time, her world would come crashing down.

**\----**

She and Richard had been at the patch over party. Their MC—which was small by some standards—was joining up with a bigger one after a tempting offer had been put forward. Madds and Richard had been invited to the party. They were 'family' after all and the president wanted to show them off. In case any of their friends were interested in some new ink.

While they were living it up, the clubhouse had been attacked. All she could remember was the sound of music followed by screaming, and it was louder than anything she'd ever heard. The place erupted as bullets peppered the room.

It was complete _chaos_.

Her first instinct was to find Richard, though one of the members who had been talking to her had ordered her to get behind the bar. She couldn't, not without Richard. But her search was soon cut short. Just as the member left her side, she darted away from the bar. Suddenly there was an intense burning sensation in her torso—almost as if someone had rammed a hot poker underneath her skin. The last thing she remembered was being jerked to the side by one of the women working behind the bar.

And as she fell to the floor her world went black.

Richard had been caught in the crossfire, along with 5 others who had been dead when the authorities arrived. Ten others were taken to the hospital with wounds ranging from mild to critical. She'd been in the ICU for two weeks because she had taken two bullets to her chest. One had been through and through, but the other had caused serious damage. According to the surgeon, if the police hadn't gotten there when they did, she would have bled out.

Richard's wife had stayed with her at the hospital, and even helped her with the recovery.

The shooting was blamed on a rival club, and the MC didn't seem to think that it would stop with that. They said that there was a turf war coming. That was all that Maddison had gotten. She didn't ask for more, it wasn't her place. They suggested that she and Richard's widow get the hell out of dodge. They didn't want either of them getting caught in whatever shitstorm was brewing.

As soon as she was healthy, the women left. They went their separate ways but promised to keep in touch. Maddison reluctantly headed home. She was out on her ass again, had enough money for the bus ticket back, and maybe an apartment. She didn't know where else to go.

As it would turn out, she'd walk out of one fire only to step into another.

Her first night back in town and she was in a little 24 hour diner. The second she walked in, she felt the few sets of eyes in the place lock on her. It had been five years since she'd left home, five years and they still recognized her. She shrugged off the whispers and the stares and checked herself into the motel. Tomorrow she'd see her mother. She'd crawl back home like a pathetic animal. She was unsure of where else to go. Maybe things had settled, maybe Karen wouldn't be mad.

Time healed, didn't it?

Maddison never got the chance to find out.

The next day she walked to her old house. There was a different car in the driveway, but aside from that everything looked the same. She didn't think twice about knocking. She expected to see her mother, shocked and possibly mad as hell when the door opened. Instead there was an elderly woman whom Maddison had never seen before in her life. When she asked if her mother was there, the woman gave her a sad look and invited her in for tea.

Her mother had moved out three years ago, into an apartment near city hall. There was no way for Maddison to contact her. Not because no one knew the number, but because her mother had died.

The woman informed her while still being careful and sympathetic about it.

It happened three weeks ago and it made the papers and everything. Karen had had a heart attack while driving, and her car ran the red light and crashed right into a semi. According to the coroner, the heart attack killed her. She was dead before the crash. Apparently, people had been looking for her. Her mother's things had been moved into storage while a lawyer tried to find her because she was the sole beneficiary of Karen Madock's will.

She spent a week there sorting through everything. There wasn't much; books, furniture, clothing, jewellery, and a letter. Maddison donated the books, the shelves, the bed, and the clothes to the local Goodwill. She then sold off the jewellery to a collector in town. It wasn't her style, and she was sure that her mother had only left the stuff to her out of necessity.

Purely a lack of options.

Suddenly she was lost again. She'd come back into town looking for her mother and a pipe dream of a possible reunion, only to find out her mother had passed a few weeks before. After her mothers things were dealt with, Maddion had a different task. The only thing that she had left of her mother was an unsent letter.

She'd opened it one night, she hadn't meant to but she did. The letter was addressed to a 'Gemma'. The name sounded familiar, but it took her a few minutes to place it. It was long—four pages to be exact. She stopped reading after the first paragraph. This letter was meant for her aunt. A woman whom her mother had severed all ties to, a woman whom she hadn't seen since she was in diapers.

It pestered her. The first part of the letter sounded like an apology, and it was dated a few days before her mother had died. The timing wasn't lost on Maddison, but it wasn't just the letter, it was the reminder.

It was a reminder that somewhere out there, she had family. Did Gemma know about her sister? Did Gemma care? It took her a week to figure it out. The letter had been in with the legal documents, and she felt that it had been singled out for a reason, though it could have been easily tossed out by one of her mother's friends. Since they had been given access after they were unable to locate Maddison.

She got an idea. It was crazy—no—stupid. Actually, it was a fair share of both.

She'd find Gemma and tell her about Karen. She'd give her the letter because the more she thought about it, the more it strengthened her belief that her mother had meant to send it. It had been signed and sealed with the address scrawled on it. She'd just never made it.

For the third time in her life, Maddison packed up her belongings and caught the first bus out.

**\----**

Her eyes flickered open again as the bus settled into the new speed limit.

In the dirty window, she caught a quick glimpse of her reflection. Wavy hair tangled and matted. Her tanned skin was pale with not-so-faint lines under her eyes. She looked like shit. She glanced at the watch then back to the window. She'd been on the damn bus for nearly six hours now, and she was getting less and less comfortable. Like some sort of sign, just as she silently cursed her feet for falling asleep, she saw a sign up ahead. It was big, bold, and illuminated by a lamppost. Suddenly any complaints she had about the ride or her tired body left her mind. They were replaced by the feeling of butterflies in her stomach. Her nerves acted up.

Her hand went to her backpack as she pulled it back onto her lap. She had two other bags, but they were tucked overhead in the luggage. Around her the other passengers began to stir, as if sensing they had almost reached their destination. The PA system crackled, and she knew that the driver was about to announce their final stop. But she already knew.

_'Welcome to Charming'_

The sign had said.

Once the bus rolled up to the depot, she slowly pulled her bags from the overhead storage compartment. Maddison joined the others as she hauled their asses off of the bus. The small crowd quickly dispersed, some disappearing into cars or just taking off into the darkness. In roughly five minutes, she was standing alone on the terminal walkway.

Well, she was here. Sort of. It was way too late to be delivering any letters now, not to mention she was tired and in desperate need of a shower. Luckily, there was a motel located directly across the street from the bus terminal.

Her muscles groaned in protest, but Maddison hefted the two large duffle bags over one shoulder while slinging the bad backpack over the other.

In no time at all she was set up in a little room with cable and a bed. The first order of business was that shower. Maddison must have spent a good hour in there. The feel of the warm water against her skin was just what the doctor ordered. Once she turned the water off and wrapped herself up in one of the towels, she stayed in the bathroom. Brushing her hair and searching for her tooth brush in her bag. As soon as the water turned off, her mind went to the reason why she was in a little hotel in an even smaller town.

She didn't know what she would say to Gemma, she didn't even know if Gemma was in Charming. Would the woman remember her? Or recognize her? Half the time she didn't even recognize herself.

Maddison stood at roughly 5'7; she kept in shape so her body was slim and toned. She'd inherited her mothers noticeable 'hourglass' shape, but that's where the similarities ended. Her hair was a wavy chocolate brown, which had been recently cropped at her shoulders. Her eyes were a deep hazel. She was pretty, but she wasn't a model. She hadn't seen any pictures of herself as a kid, yet she was pretty damn sure there was no resemblance.

On top of her features alone, Maddison had a small collection of tattoos. Around her write ankle there was a rose and thorns. The flower sat on the right side, and the stem ran around connecting the pattern. It had been her first tattoo. Not great, the colors had faded a bit and the line work wasn't stunning but she'd always liked it. She had two Celtic knot wrist cuffs, one adorning each wrist. The knot work was maybe three inches wide and intricate as fuck. They'd been a birthday present from Richard a few years back.

Her final tattoo was the words _Fortitudo et virtus_ , which was Latin for strength and courage. That one was done in an old word calligraphic style in black and white which sat between her shoulders. Large enough to be read if one was looking at it from a few steps away, but any further and it looked more like a sort of tribal design. She planned on getting more in the future, at some point.

After some time she managed to pull herself from her thoughts and finished drying off. It was late and she needed sleep more than anything. After all, she had a big day tomorrow.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Anyways! This chapter is a little longer ( I surprised myself with that. ) It's more or less putting things in motion for future updates. I'm actually quite pleased with how it turned out. This will also mark my first time ( ever ) writing canon characters in the wonderful SOA-verse. Which I was incredibly excited about when I started on this one. I hope you guys enjoy it.

Sleep had for the most part, eluded her. Her thoughts were going a mile a minute and even when Maddison did manage to drift off, she was woken up not even an hour later to the sounds of thumping and moaning in the room besides hers.

She spent most of the time lying in bed, just thinking. Something she'd been doing a lot of these past few days. Madds wasn't sure what she was setting herself up for. Her mother and Gemma obviously hadn't been on speaking terms at all over the last twenty-four years, who knew if they were fine before that. She would be showing up out of nowhere, telling Gemma that she had a letter that her recently deceased (and very estranged) sister had written to her but never got to send out. She couldn't even being to play out possible scenarios in her mind.

She stayed in bed just before noon, in which she finally convinced herself to get up and get dressed. She pulled on a pair of old one-eyed jeans and a black wife beater while throwing on a dusty pair of cowboy boots. She then grabbed her wallet and the letter began her journey.

Two hours later found her lost in the town.

**xxx**

Charming was a small town, and she assumed that it wouldn't be too hard to find the street. Well, she had been wrong. Somehow she ended up on the main drag twice. The first time she tried to retrace her steps, and on the second time, she didn't even bother. Instead, she parked her ass down on a bench and studied the envelope. Maybe asking around was a good idea. Someone had to know Gemma. The letter soon lay forgotten on her lap as she buried her head in her hands. It was hot, she was tired and hungry, and her level of frustration was climbing by the minute. Maddison was considering heading back to the motel in defeat when a man's voice caught her attention.

"Excuse me, Miss?"

At first she didn't look up since she wasn't the only woman in the area. The man, however, repeated the question, but this time he was closer. Maddison suppressed a groan and sat up, shielding the sun from her eyes. It took her a minute to focus, but when she did, she saw a man wearing a cop's uniform approaching her. He looked older, worn out, like he'd been on the job for longer than she'd been alive.

"Ma'am, are you alright?" He asked her again as he stepped onto the sidewalk. There was an air of concern in his voice, but he seemed friendly. He didn't exactly scream as an authority figure to her.

Maddison slowly nodded her head, brushing a lock of hair away from her eyes.

"I'm fine…" she let out a low sigh. "Just a little lost."

The man's features changed then as a small but reassuring smile came about his face.

"New in Charming, aren't you?" Maddison nodded again. "Well, where are you heading? I can point you in the right direction." She hesitated for a moment, and then she handed him the letter. He took it and she swore as soon as he laid his eyes on it, his expression faltered slightly. "You're looking for Gemma Teller?"

"I think that's the right address, but I keep getting lost." She left the part of asking the locals for help out. "Do you know her?"

He smiled again, but this one seemed more tired than anything. "You could say we're old friends." He looked back down at the envelope briefly before handing it back to Maddison. "If you don't mind me asking…Why are you looking for Gemma?"

Maddison averted her gaze quickly. What was she supposed to say? That Gemma was her aunt? "I've got to give this to her." She waved the envelope.

"I could take you to her house but she won't be there now. She's at the garage." He looked over to the cruiser parked across the street, then back to Maddison. "I could drop you off, if you'd like?"

Normally she wouldn't take rides from strangers, but he seemed nice. He was also a cop. Or Chief, according to his badge. He said that he knew Gemma, and he was offering to take her to the garage – was it where Gemma worked?

"That would be great. Thank you so much. I kind of want to get this over with. " She said after a moment while pushing herself off of the bench. She felt awkward, just slightly. "I'm Maddison by the way." She offered him her hand, which he took and gave a brief shake.

"Chief Unser. If you'll follow me." He nodded towards his car before heading back across the road with Maddison in tow. She paused for minute, hand going to the back passenger's door but just as she opened it Unser came around and opened the other door. "You can ride up front. Unless you'd rather be back there." Ride around town in the back of a squad car? Yeah, that would be a great first impression. She took what was offered to her. Once they were both strapped in the car pulled away from the curb.

**xxx**

The ride was quiet for the most part.

Cheif Unser asked her how long she'd been in Charming and he looked just a little surprised when she told him that she'd only arrived last night. He also asked where she was from to which she had chosen to answer truthfully.

She had been born in Arizona and it had been her stop before coming to Charming. Thankfully he didn't get too personal with her. He could have, being the Chief of police and all since he had to know everyone in this town. It was the middle of nowhere mentality, something she'd been around most of her life.

Someone new comes along, looking for your friends? It got a person curious.

She took in the lack-luster scenery as it passed by. They drove through a couple of residential areas, a school, a hospital, as well as a small handful of shops before the Chief pulled off the main road. There were a couple of ragged looking buildings, and then there was what looked like an empty space. A lot of some type. The cruiser rolled through the open gates and pulled to a stop across from a long line of Harley's.

"Welcome to Teller-Morrow Automotive," he said with a faint chuckle. "Gemma's probably in the office by now." With that he pushed open his door and stepped out with Maddison who quickly followed suit.

She hovered by the cruiser for a moment as she scanned the lot.

The bikes had definitely grabbed her attention, as did the ring and what looked like the entrance to the main building. There was a large sign; at least it looked like a sign, by the door.

It was black with the white outline of a reaper, and a few symbols that she couldn't make out. It clicked almost instantly.

Was this a MC clubhouse?

There were people walking around and garage bays open, mechanics banging away. Maddison tensed up slightly. The last time she'd been near a club, she'd lost one of the few people she'd trusted, and she'd almost lost her own life as well. A clubhouse was either the safest or most dangerous place you could be, depending on the day.

Unser waved at her to follow and she quickly headed to his side as they rounded the corner. She couldn't help but notice that the guys wearing uniforms had stopped their work and stole a few glances as she followed the Chief to what she assumed was the main office. Was it her or was it the fact that the Chief was on the property? Clubs generally had some sort of issue with law enforcement—and for good reasons.

They stopped at the open doorway. He leaned in and gave a brief knock, then stepped into the office. Maddison hovered outside, still taking in the garage and the odd person who entered her line of sight.

"Hey, Gemma. You got a minute? There's a young woman looking for you." She overheard, and took that as her cue to make an appearance. One hand went to her back pocket where she'd stowed the envelope, yanking it out. The chief was standing beside a desk which took a decent chunk of the small space. Behind the desk was a woman with dark brown hair that had lighter streaks. Well, she kind of looked familiar.

"What can I help you with, doll?"

Maddison didn't realize she'd been staring until Gemma spoke up. She instantly pulled herself together.

"My name's Maddison. Maddison Madock." There was a change in Gemma's expression. It went from welcoming to cooler, more alert. She hesitated, but as the woman's eyes bore into her she figured it would be a bad time to calm up. "I have a letter for you…from your sister."

She could have sworn that the temperature in the room dropped a few degrees almost as soon as she stopped talking. Unser looked surprised, and Gemma's expression was now completely unreadable.

"I'm gonna give you ladies some privacy." The chief said as he quickly left the office. Maddison wished he would have stayed. But just like that, she was alone with Gemma.

The envelope was placed on the desk in front of Gemma, waiting for her to make the next move. "You're Karen's kid? What the hell are you doing in Charming?" Gemma cocked an eyebrow at her.

Was there anyway to put it delicately? No, not that she could come up with.

Gemma didn't really seem like the type who enjoyed people who put things delicately. There was something about her, ruggedness of some kind. She saw a lot of her grandmother in Gemma.

"She died. A few weeks ago, I found the letter with all of her legal stuff. I think she meant to send it, just never got the chance." Gemma picked up the envelope and studied the outside for a minute, and then she opened it. She pulled papers out and set them back down on the desk, adjusting her glasses.

The news didn't seem to faze her. Or it had, but Gemma had a brilliant poker face. There was no sadness in her eyes or voice. Maddison couldn't fault her. In all honesty, she reacted almost the same when the elderly woman had given her the news. Of course she had been shocked, but it hadn't exactly shown. The last conversation that she'd had with her mother ended up with her getting her ass kicked out of the house. Everything between the two of them had been a bitter battle of wills. Once she left town, she stayed gone and was convinced that her mother wouldn't care either way. Who knew if she ever did? Over the years, Maddison had grown fairly indifferent and before the shooting, her mother had only crossed her mind a handful of times.

"How'd she die?" Gemma looked up at her over her glasses, tone unchanging.

Maddison shifted on the spot, weight changing from foot to foot. "Heart attack." The jaded teenager in her wanted to shout that it was somehow karma, but that seemed wildly inappropriate.

A silence came over the two. Gemma had stopped looking at the letters and had since focused her attention on Maddison. It made her feel pretty damn uneasy. To her, it looked like Gemma was sizing her up. At that moment she wished that she possessed the ability to read minds, if only to be able to tell whether she was about to be tossed out on her ass or not.

Finally, after what felt like an eternity, the woman spoke again. "You came all this way to give me this?" Maddison understood immediately. Rather, she thought she did.

Gemma must have figured she was there for another reason. Expecting something else, the letter was just a convenient excuse. "Look, Mrs. T-"

Gemma let out a quick laugh. "It's Gemma."

Maddison started again. "Gemma, I'm just here to give you that. I thought you should have it. I figure she would have sent it…" The brunette nervously ran her fingers back through her hair. "I'm not looking for handouts or anything." The look that Gemma gave her silently asked 'really' and Maddison nodded.

She didn't come to Charming with the idea of some sort of family reunion in her mind. She hadn't expected Gemma to be overjoyed that her niece had showed up out of nowhere. No expectations, no disappointment. Anyways, shit like that only happened in the movies. Charming was just a stop before she moved onto other things. She wasn't sure what those other things were just yet, but all she needed was a map of the bus route and she could figure it out. After all, she had done it before.

"Now that you uh-know, guess my part's done." Maddison motioned awkwardly towards the door as Gemma rose from her seat. She hadn't given much thought to what happened after she handed Gemma the letter, aside from getting the hell out of dodge. "It was nice seeing you." The words came out in a rush and she instantly regretted them. It was nice seeing you? It took everything she had to keep her cheeks from turning a very telling shade of red.

The idiotic remark made Gemma crack a small grin for the first time since Maddison entered the office.

At Madd's own expense, of course. "That all then?"

"Yeah, that's it." Suddenly she couldn't get out of there fast enough. No more questions, no touchy-feely crap. She'd done what she'd come to Charming to do, and that was it. Maddison cast Gemma an awkward smile before turning towards the door.

The chief was still out there waiting. He was talking to two men, both sporting mechanic shirts. One was shorter, and younger. He had the weirdest damn haircut she'd ever seen. A Mohawk with some sort of tribal design on the side that she could see, and there was probably another on the other side.

Beside him was an older, taller man. He had shorter, curly hair. Both men were talking to Unser that was until Maddison got closer.

The one with the Mohawk stopped mid sentence and the other man pulled his sunglasses down, like he was trying to get a better look. Maddison caught a quick glimpse before he pushed them back up on his face. He had a set of wicked eyes. She'd never seen eyes like that on a person before. At least, not if contacts weren't involve.

Before either could speak, Chief Unser turned back to her. "You all finished here?"

Maddison glanced over her shoulder. Gemma was standing in the doorway to the office, arms crossed over her chest. Suddenly, she felt like a dying animal being surrounded by vultures. Gemma hadn't been unpleasant, but there was something about her that just screamed she was not to be messed with.

She concluded that it was a Madock thing. Her mother and her grandmother were the exact same way. Given the chance and the reason, they'd chew you up and spit you out in a heartbeat.

She idly rubbed her arm, looking down at the ground. "Yeah, I think so." She'd done her job at least.

"I'll give you a ride back then." It didn't feel like there was room to argue. Not that she would have anyways. It was too damn hot out for her to try and find her way back to the motel.

"Fellas." He gave the men a curt nod before turning in Gemma's direction. "Gemma, it's always good to see you."

The woman didn't give much in the way of a response. With that, the Chief led her away.

She could feel three sets of eyes boring into the back of her skull as she walked away. So that was it, she was done. The pair walked past the bikes again, and the odd worker.

"Where we headed?" The chief asked as they entered the cruiser.

"Um…the motel by the bus station," Maddison mumbled as she buckled herself in.

**xxx**

Gemma joined Tig and Juice in the garage bay as the three of them watched Maddison and Unser walk away.

"Everything cool?" Tig asked with mild concern flickering in and out of his tone.

"Yeah," Juice chimed in. "Who was that?"

Gemma waved them off. "Nothing you gotta concern yourselves with."

In truth, it wasn't. Of course they probably cared less about the reason why the woman had showed up at Teller-Morrow anyways. Both men were enjoying the view, right up until the car doors shut and Unser rolled off the lot.

She switched gears before either decided to play twenty questions with her. "Dinner tomorrow, planning on making an appearance?"

Tig wore a look of mock hurt when Gemma asked and Juice had to bite his tongue to keep from chuckling. "Five minutes late last time, Gem. Five minutes."

"Five minutes?" The queen laughed, "Felt like half an hour to me.I don't wanna hear any bitching if the food's gone by the time you get there. Especially if you're putting pussy before family time."

She, of course, was referring to a more recent incident.

Tig had partied a little too hard the night before, slept through the whole damn day at the dorms. The guys had let him, of course. It was his reward for another run well done. And if Tig wasn't there, that meant more food for them. He'd gotten there little under an hour after everybody sat down. Bitched for the rest of the night about how he hadn't gotten any food. So it was the first time Tigger had ever been late for a meal, but Gemma could still screw with him.

"Don't you two have work to do?" The men dispersed with Tig muttering all the way.

Once they went back to work on the car, Gemma went back to the office. She settled back behind the desk, slowly picking up one of the pages. She'd only just skimmed the first few lines – to make sure that the girl wasn't bullshitting. After a few lines she decided that it was definitely from Karen, but she wasn't going to read the damn thing there. She was more interested in the woman who had shown up at her office – chief's escort and all.

Maddison Madock, that crazy bitch's daughter.

She'd seen Maddison once in passing. That was ages ago. It had been made clear to her that Karen wanted jack to do with her so Gemma hadn't bothered. Life was better for everyone that way. She felt nothing but a cool indifference towards her sister, who had only been a year or two younger. News of her biting it wasn't exactly…shocking. She wasn't gonna go home and drink her sorrows away or cry herself to sleep.

She'd expected Maddison to ask for something. Money or even a place to stay, but she hadn't asked for anything. She came out here to deliver a letter, and Gemma found herself believing her. There was no scam in her eyes; she was being far too awkward to be making any of it up. A blind man would have been able to tell.

Gemma let out a small sigh as she adjusted her glasses. She'd caught up on the day's paperwork and it was a slow day on the lot. If Maddison had come all this way just to give the letter to her, the least she could do was read it.

So that was what she did.

**xxx**

"So you're family?" He must have spent a few minutes deciding whether or not it was okay to ask.

Maddison didn't look at him.

She only shrugged. "Technically, I guess we are. " Maddison shut her eyes and let her head press back against the seat. "I don't think blood counts for much though." She added quietly.

Beside her, Unser tossed her a questioning look. Which she caught when she cracked an eyelid open. Her mother had been 'blood' and for awhile there, she definitely hadn't considered the woman family. Family was there for you. She'd found a family in Richard and Koraline, and some of the MC members. Her mother had kicked her out; she'd made it clear that it was her way or the highway. She was never really there for her, not really. Though unlike her mother, she didn't harbour any ill will towards Gemma. She didn't know the woman – how could she?

It wasn't something that she really wanted to go in depth on. Not with someone she really didn't know. The chief seemed to understand. At least he didn't ask her to further explain herself.

After another few minutes of silence, he spoke up again. "Will you be staying in Charming long?" Now that question was one she didn't feel strange about answering.

"I wasn't planning on it." Maddison replied. "Gotta look at a bus schedule; figure out where the road's going to take me next."

She'd probably be around for another day, tops. Not that the rest of the world was going anywhere. She had made no plans to stay in Charming. There was a life somewhere out there for her. She had found one once after all, she could do it again. She could bartend and she was legal. There was always some place that was looking for someone who could put up with a little abuse for the customers. She thought about hitting Los Angeles. Look around for a bartending gig, save up for an apartment. Maybe flash her portfolio around a few tattoo parlors.

The inquiry stopped there. Maybe the chief had sensed that she didn't have much else to say. Either way, the rest of the ride was quiet. Once they reached the motel Maddison quickly thanked him, a couple of times. She did appreciate the kindness. He didn't have to go out of his way to give her a lift, but he had.

She waited in the parking lot as he rolled away. Waving for a moment before turning back and heading to her hotel room. The first thing that she did once she was behind that closed door was rummage around through the pamphlets that she'd left on the nightstand. A few for local attractions, restaurants, a map of the states, and one bus schedule.

So part of her was feeling a little bit antsy. It had always taken her awhile to settle down. Before she'd ended up settling in New Mexico, where she'd met Richard, she'd spent time in at least four different towns. A job and a place to live weren't the only things that Maddison kept in mind. She needed to feel like she fit. Like somehow, she was in the right place at the right time. Some people would have probably called her nuts for thinking that she could decide something like that in a few days – but so far it had worked out well for her.

Shacking up in Charming wasn't going to happen for a few reasons. One of which was Gemma's presence. She was sure that if she decided to stay, it could rub the woman the wrong way. She had told her that she wasn't here for anything else – hadn't she?

Maddison settled down on the bed, opening up the bus schedule and setting the glossy paper on top of her lap. Somewhere, hidden amongst the times and the names, her new life was waiting for her to find it.

She was sure of it.

**xxx**

_Later that night_

She'd stayed at Teller-Morrow after closing for a few hours. The men had church and she had an inventory to take. Once that let out, the usual mayhem ensued. Like almost every other night the clubhouse was quickly filled with sweet-butts and crow-eaters, a couple of random partiers from off the streets. Gemma could hold her own with the rest if she wanted too, but that was the thing—she didn't want to. There was something to be said for a quiet house after a long days work.

It hadn't been any old day. No, this one had just been full of surprises. When she'd woken up this morning she sure as hell hadn't guessed that ghosts from her past would come knocking on her door.

Gemma had spent the rest of the day thinking about that girl. She could see hints of Karen in her. When she and Karen had been kids, she'd had the exact same sort of awkwardness. Of course it went out the window when puberty hit. Not many people knew about the estranged family. She'd done a damn fine job of severing all ties, it was the way she preferred it. Never in a million years would she have expected to see any of them again.

The letter had been read once at the shop and Gemma had no idea what to make of it. At times she doubted that it was even Karen's writing at all, but when she did, that was when she came across a line or a paragraph that could only come from Rose, or someone directly related to her. Someone like Karen. She had read it once and then tried to put it out of her mind.

Which was exactly why now, she was lying in bed, reading glasses on and eyes skimming the pages.

Suddenly, she knew everything about the young woman who had walked into the office. Almost everything, instead she had a vague outline.

She knew that Maddison had never gotten along with her mother; she knew that her daddy wasn't in the picture. Gemma knew that Maddison wanted to be an artist, but Karen, true to nature, wanted a lawyer or some hot shot doctor. She also knew that after one particularly brutal fight, Maddison had seemingly fallen off the face of the earth. Karen claimed to have looked for the kid – but something told her that she hadn't looked too hard. If a mother wanted to find her child she'd turn over every fucking rock until she found them. She would have done that for Thomas, she would still do it for Jax. More proof that the bitch of a sister really had inherited the crazy.

Part of her felt for the kid. She could relate more than she'd care to admit.

Growing up with Karen must have been five different types of hell. It was funny actually, the woman she'd seen didn't look like some diseased harlot. Maddison didn't look like she had a couple babies and some pissed off sugar daddies. She'd looked tired, but she didn't look like a druggie. Gemma had been around the type long enough to be able to spot them at first glance. She didn't look like anything that Karen had feared.

Well, except for the tattoos.

"What are you doing up?" Clay's voice made her look up from the pages.

Her old man lumbered over to the bed, allowing himself to drop against the mattress fully clothed. He smelt like weed and whiskey. Oddly comforting.

"Little light reading. Good night?" He only groaned in response, slowly flipping himself over onto his back. The party was still probably rolling along, but like her – sometimes Clay found the quiet house nice.

Gemma went back to reading, working on the second page. Clay would probably get up and undress, then pass out. He didn't seem like he wanted to get frisky tonight, which was fine by her.

"Heard about your visitor today," Gemma looked down at him, eyebrow cocked. "Juice wouldn't shut the hell up about her. Think he's in love." She couldn't help but roll her eyes.

"Nah, just his dick talking."

They both cracked a smile at that.

As she predicted, Clay did force himself out of bed. Didn't mention her 'visitor' again, didn't ask any questions. He just peeled off his clothes and settled back down beside her.

"Hey, babe? Think we got room for one more tomorrow?" Normally, Gemma wouldn't ask.

Dinners were her time to shine. The men had learned to stay the hell out of her way pretty damn quickly. Clay might have ruled everywhere else, but the kitchen? It was her domain.

Clay grunted. "You're always saying we do."

He was right. While she tried to keep dinner a family affair, she'd been known to let the odd sweet-butt slide in. As long as they were on their best behavior, it was always a full house.

Gemma didn't explain why she asked and Clay probably didn't care. She carefully took off her glasses and gathered the stray papers back together. She set everything on the nightstand.

She needed some sleep. Today was a long day, and she had a feeling that tomorrow was only going to be longer.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I know that this update is long overdue. I'm not even going to try and explain why you've all been waiting this long. Because that story would be about as long as this update ( which is pretty long, I'd say ) and about a million times less entertaining. I will say sorry though! I never intended to drop the story and I have every intention of continuing it. I have it planned out almost entirely in my head, now I just need to put it into words. I'm in the process of updating a lot of my fics and I'm also participating in NaNoWriMo. Not to mention in the process of drafting 2-3 fanficsfor The Walking Dead and Sons of Anarchy. So I'm keeping myself busy. Anyways! I hope you enjoy this chapter. I needed to slowly introduce Maddison to the MC, so she's inching her way into the pool in a sense. I didn't feel like tossing her right in would be a good fit for the story. I know we haven't seen a lot of Tig yet, or anyone, but I promise you we're getting there.
> 
> I want to thank you all again for everyone who has taken the time to read this story, or review it, or even send me PM's. Your continuous support ( even through this update drought ) means a lot to me! I love all my readers and reviewers. You guys are brilliant :)

* * *

Gemma called Unser the next morning. She didn't know how to get a hold of Maddison. After giving her the letter the girl made a quick escape. Wayne had probably dropped her off wherever she was staying and even if he hadn't, it would have been easy enough for him to give her an address. At first he seemed a little hesitant when she asked where the girl was staying – but she got it. After a few minutes of assuring him that all she wanted to do was talk to her, he gave her a motel name.

She had some shit to do at the garage but she was done before noon. She gave herself the rest of the day off to 'prep'. Gemma had to make a meal. That was a shitload of food. Not just any food, good food. The type of stuff that would make any normal man pass out after a plate. Occasionally she'd task one of the other women with bringing a dish or something, but since those women seemed to change from week to week – potluck wasn't usually the safest bet. Luann was leaving the studio early to help her out, between the two of them they could get plenty done before Teller-Morrow closed for the night.

First order of business was the groceries. She'd gotten most of those when she'd left the garage. Luann arrived at the house shortly after she did. Gemma started laying out the plan. Cooked chicken and ham, greens, biscuits, about a dozen other things. Once the meat was in the oven and Luann was busy with one of the million other tasks still to be completed. Gemma headed back into town. The only reasoning she gave was that she had something that she needed to do.

The Cadillac slowed to a stop in the near empty motel lot. Wayne hadn't given her a number but she got that easily enough from the woman in the office. When she'd finally looked up from her damn magazine and saw who she was talking to, she couldn't have pointed her in the right direction fast enough.

According to the woman, she didn't know whether or not Maddison was still there. That didn't come as much of a shock to her. The place was hardly a five star resort, and in a little town like Charming? People came and went – but more people went.

If Maddison was gone then she was gone. Gemma would walk away much the same was as she had arrived. Her world wasn't about to stop turning to for this.

At some point the previous night she had decided to extend a dinner invitation to the young woman. It seemed as though the more she read, the more it seemed like a better idea. She wasn't trying to add to the family, she also didn't necessarily want to sit down and listen to the girl tell her life story. Gemma was just…curious. It sounded like Karen ended up turning into their mother. It resonated in the writing; she could practically hear Rose's voice reading each line in her head. What type of person stayed around? Maddison had been kicked out at eighteen. She didn't leave like Gemma herself had, she'd been tossed out. The fact that she'd hit puberty and managed to survive her mother was mildly impressive.

Her fist met with the door once, then she waited. She didn't hear anything but she tried once more. Almost as soon as she stepped back she could hear a distinct 'thud' and a slew of curse words being thrown around on the other side. "Hold on a second!"

The door jerked open and Maddison hung in the doorway.

"When was the last time you had a good meal, home cooked and all?" Maddison was confused. Gemma didn't' say hi, or offer a good morning. Nothing like that. What did her eating habits have to do with anything anyways? Gemma crossed her arms over top of her chest. "Well?"

She honestly couldn't remember. Her mother could cook, but she was never home. Which meant that Maddison for the most part had to fend for herself. Dinner had often come in a fast food bag or some sort of microwaveable package. She had had dinner with Richard and his wife once, shortly after she'd started working at the parlour. Even that was years ago. She looked down at the dirty carpet beneath her feet, feeling like a lot like a child.

"You cook?" This time, Maddison took the liberty to answer. There was something imposing about Gemma. Like she could snap her neck like a twig if she wanted to. She put on her best poker face and tried not to cringe as she responded.

"Not really."

Gemma nodded. "That's what I thought. I'm hosting a dinner tonight. There's room for one more. Unless you've gotten a better offer." Maddison didn't respond. Gemma only smirked at her. She'd just planned to hike to that diner she'd seen when Chief Unser had taken her to the garage. She had a nice offer here. She wasn't sure why Gemma was offering – it felt more than a little strange. The suspicious look was something that the older woman must have picked up on, because she let out a low laugh and rolled her eyes. "No one there is gonna bite."

"Alright." Maddison finally said.

"Good. Let's go."

"Wait…now?" Maddison didn't follow Gemma to the door. "Should I change or something?"

Gemma gave her a quick once over. She was wearing a pair of worn denim blues and a form fitting blue plaid shirt with a white wife beater underneath. She had said dinner, hadn't she? A home cooked meal, not a five course sit down at some posh restaurant. "What you've got is fine." She pulled open the door and stepped out. Maddison, still a little lost, paused to grab her wallet and room key off of the end table. Stuffing the items into the pocket of the coat she'd picked up off the bed before following Gemma out to the parking lot.

* * *

The ride was quiet, neither spoke much. Maddison noticed Gemma looking over at her ever so often. She might have asked what was so interesting about her, but she had a feeling that Gemma wasn't one who liked airing stupid ass questions. Thankfully they weren't in the car long. It couldn't have been more than ten minutes before they pulled into the driveway. Gemma had instructed her to grab some of the bags from the back and take them into the house. Maddison did so. Though she waited by the door until Gemma was there to open it, pathetic as it was.

The kitchen was warm and flooded with the smell of whatever was in the oven - and it was good. There was only one other woman there when they'd arrived. A blonde, who looked like she was about Gemma's age. She was eager to take the bags from Maddison's hands and introduce herself. The blonde's name was Luann. Maddison didn't catch her last name, probably because it wasn't given. Once the introductions were out of the way Gemma put her to work. There was about a million things in the kitchen that needed to be washed, skinned, or cut and it was clear that she was expected to pull her weight.

That was what Maddison did. At least, she attempted to. She couldn't remember the last time she had helped prepare a meal. When she lived with her mother, her mother had always been the one who did it. Maddison might have offered to help if the two of them had been able to stay in the same room together for any length of time. Once she had left home almost all of her meals had come from a microwaveable packet, a quaint little diner with reasonable prices, or a greasy fast food joint. To say she was out of her element didn't really begin to describe it. Thankfully the art of chopping up potatoes and carrots wasn't a delicate one.

Maddison stood by silently as Gemma and Luann talked about what was happening at the garage, how 'the boys' were doing, and how Luann's business was. Maddison wasn't sure if her mind was just filling in the blanks, but she could have sworn that Luann ran her own sort of adult business. It sounded like porn, the bits and pieces she caught up on. Not that Maddison was eavesdropping.

For the most part she managed to keep to herself. The other women were busy chatting, and the most attention she got was when Gemma turned her watchful eye towards her. It was almost two hours of work in the kitchen before the main course was finished and in either a pot or a pan, cooking on a low heat. It was two hours before someone else appeared. There was some more women, two of them. Obviously more familiar with Gemma and Luann then she was. There was a taller blond, her name was Crystal - then a shorter brunette who introduced herself as Tanya. They apologized profusely for being late, and wanted to know when everyone else would get there. Much like she had with Maddison, Gemma put their asses to work.

* * *

With most of the food in the oven the women went about setting the table, bringing in the booze. Maddison was tasked with the former. Gemma carefully stacked a set of plates and napkins into her arms, directing her towards the dining room. As Maddison set the plates down on top of the barren table a there was a distinct grumbling noise outside, getting louder and closer by the second. She had almost thought it was thunder - if it weren't for the fact there wasn't a damn cloud in the sky. The roar became louder and louder until all the sudden, it stopped. Right in front of the house. The sound cut out after a few seconds and not long after that, she heard the sound of voices laughing, and arguing. The door opened and a crowd of men appeared in the doorway. She could barely even see outside now. "Never seen bikers before, doll?" Gemma was hovering over her shoulder, a little too close. Maddison all but jumped out of her skin.

"No I just…" Fuck, she sounded like an idiot. Of course she'd seen bikers before. "They're family?" Gemma had said family get together. If you were in good with them, you were generally considered part of the MC family. Which was what every MC was at its core, no matter how violent or corrupt – and some were. She'd heard stories. Gemma didn't humor her with an answer.

The men poured into the room but didn't seem to notice her at first, which was fine. If any of them decided to suddenly become aware of their surroundings they'd find a strange woman staring a little too intently. Her eyes were drawn to the cuts. The man at the head of the crew with the grey hair and wide jaw, he had a president's patch. She had seen the bike at the garage…and the reaper. Big and imposing up there by one of the doors but she hadn't stopped for a second to think. Gemma…and an MC? Well, that made some sense.

There were seven in total, laughing and talking amongst themselves. A couple were still outside, since the others weren't moving. No one seemed to be in a rush. Suddenly she felt like she needed to disappear, like there was no more room in the dining area for her.

Maddison put the remaining dinnerware onto the table as quickly as she could without breaking the plates and swiftly turned on her heel, praying that she could make it back into the kitchen without anyone noticing. Last time she had been around an MC she'd almost died in a clubhouse shootout. She'd lost the only people who had ever been there for her, one had died and the other she had been forced to break contact with. In case those sons of bitches ever tried to track any of the 'civilian' survivors down. Last time she'd been around a club, she'd lost everything.

Maddison saw her opening and Christ, was she going to take it. At least, that had been the idea.

"She's new, ain't she?" The voice wasn't loud, but it was noticeable. The accent stood out like a nun in a whorehouse. Maddison froze, right hand on the doorway. Maybe they weren't talking about her. Maybe they were talking about…someone else.

"Kid, come here. Meet the guys." Gemma beckoned for her.

_Shit._

Gemma ushered her over and the very loud conversation all but stopped right there. "So, that's our guest?" Gemma now stood beside one of the men, arm wrapping around his waist. Maddison stole a quick glance at his patches. President being the most outstanding.

Gemma took the liberty of introducing her to the men. "This is Maddison." One by one, the men standing in the dining room turned their head to look at her. One she recognized instantly, and when their eyes met he quickly bowed his head, like he was embarrassed hoer something. "So you're the girl who came by TM yesterday." One of the younger men said with a chuckle. He had long, dirty blond hair and a shit-eating grin. "Heard all about you." And suddenly she felt uncomfortable all over again. Had Gemma said something? The other woman patted her hand against the chest of the man she'd wrapped her arms around. "This is Clay, that's Jax, you met Juice at the garage, that's Chibs." As she introduced the men, they gave her a small nod and a smile then took a seat at the table. The three other who had been standing outside slowly came in "And that's Bobby, Piney, and Tig."

Maddison had to admit, she was slightly thrown off by the noticeable oxygen line and tank that one of the men had on their person. At the same time, it was pretty impressive. Good for him to keep up with a club. That guy had to have some stories. Bobby winked at her as he passed by, but she found herself staring at the final man. The other one she'd seen at the garage. He was wearing sunglasses, but took them off as soon as he was in the doorway. There were those eyes again. They were so…God, she didn't even have a word for them. They were so beautiful but at the same time they looked so threatening. Tig gave her the same nod of acknowledgement as the others had.

"Dinner's about done." Gemma announced "Sit your asses down." Maddison turned from the table, following Luann into the kitchen. Gemma stopped her with a gentle hand "You can help with the dishes, go make yourself comfortable." Gemma slowly turned her around, steering her back towards the table. The younger blond man, Jax, gave her a quick wave and pushed out the empty seat beside him. Maddison uttered a small thank you as she sat down. She hadn't expected that.

There was light conversation, but everyone's eyes kept coming back to her. Never in a million years would she have thought that she'd be surrounded by cuts again, but here she was.

"So, you from Charming? I don't think I've seen you around." Jax turned in his chair, elbow hanging over the back. The other guys seemed to quiet down when he asked.

She shook her head, tucking a strand of hair behind her ears. "You wouldn't have," She responded with a small smile "I'm just passing through."

He seemed to understand that. "Are you from around here?" Maddison asked

"Born and raised." and to his credit, Jax sounded damn proud about the fact.

"What are you in town for?" Jax inquired. At that moment she remembered that there were actually other people in the dining room. Juice was sitting across from her, all awkward smiles. It reminded her of high school.

"Had to deliver something." Maddison said simply. He seemed content with his answer.

"Ye left quite the impression on 'im yesterday." The man on Chibs' left gave him a hard thump on the back. "Think he's in love." Maddison wasn't really paying attention to what he was saying. His accent grabbed her, but something else did as well. She only just noticed the two thin yet prominent scars stretching from either side of his mouth. As if someone had tried to carve out some sort of twisted jack o'lantern smile on his face.

"I didn't talk about her." Juice groaned, rolling his eyes defensively.

From her side of the table, Bobby spoke up. "Yeah, not much!" and they all laughed at that. The poor kid looked like he wanted to curl up in a hole and die. It was kind of cute. How old was he? He looked like the youngest person at the table, save for maybe Madds herself.

Before anyone could get another word in edgewise, Gemma, Luann, and one of the other girls started to bring out the food. Soon the entire surface was covered by a plate, a bowl, or a bottle of beer.

Everything tasted as good as it looked ( and smelt ) and for a little while she was more concerned with the food than the people around her. Most of the conversation was about the garage, Teller-Morrow Automotive. She wasn't exactly paying attention. She didn't know much about cars, or bikes. Besides it really wasn't any of her business. They drank and laughed while she ate and watched.

Everyone around the table seemed so at home, as if the gathering were a completely normal occurrence. To someone totally oblivious to even the most basic of MC dynamics, the scene playing out before her eyes would be strange. A group of men who, had they not been laughing and drinking, would look like they would beat the ever-loving crap out of the first person who looked at them the wrong way.

Maddison spent most of the dinner picked at her plate, accepting more food or a drink when it came her way. She was trying to stay under the radar as much as possible, not wanting to draw any attention to herself. Every once and awhile she'd catch someone looking her way. She'd smile, then bow her bed slightly. Juice was the biggest culprit, second only to Gemma. From her place at the head of the table she kept a close eye on Maddison. The girl could practically feel her eyes burning into her skin. Madds wasn't sure what made her feel more uneasy. The bikers, or Gemma herself. It was sort of an even split between the two.

"Hey, doll. Mind passing this down?" Jax asked as he handed her a half empty plate of rolls. Maddison took it, shifting slightly to pass it off to her side. When she did so, her sleeves hiked up ever so slightly. Just enough to flash the black ink that was hidden beneath them.

It hadn't gone unnoticed by everyone. "Whatcha got there?" Juice craned his neck as she rolled up her sleeves, revealing her cuffs. Hesitantly, she held up her wrists so that he and the others could get a better look. A couple of the guys nodded approvingly at the sight. "Those look cool. How long have you had them?" She wasn't sure if he was genuinely interested in her tattoos, or he was just looking for an excuse to talk to her.

"A couple of years. The work was a birthday present from a friend." She glanced down – as if attempting to hide the look of sadness that was ghosting across her face. "Yours look cool, too." Maddison said as she looked back up – trying to distract herself from thoughts of Richard. "Haven't seen many placements like that before."

When she'd said it, she was being nice. Not to mention honest. The Mohawk with the tribal tattoos adorning either side was still a new one for her. However, she'd tried to be nice and return the compliments…something had to have gotten lost in translation. The Scotsman's eyebrows shot up and he let out a low whistle. "Here that, lad? Pretty sure that's girl for 'looks like shite.' " As soon as Chibs said it, the color began to drain from her face. She'd spent the entire time trying to go unnoticed, now every set of eyes were on her.

"No! I like them." Maddison quickly jumped on the defensive. The last thing you wanted to do, was insult someone's ink. That was bad. Very, very bad. Even if the tattoo was crap, you kept that to yourself.

For the first time since the dinner started, Tig spoke up. "Nah, man. I'm with Chibs on this one. She doesn't like 'em." Some of the others were smirking, and the boyish smile that had been on Juice's face was now long gone. Her face felt as if it were on fire. She was getting more flustered by the second. You didn't insult someone's ink, and you didn't argue with members. The more Maddison tried to hide it, the worse it got.

She was at a loss, she couldn't think of what to say. Maddison knew she looked like an idiot, and she'd obviously sounded like one. Was she just supposed to say they'd taken it the wrong way? It was Gemma who finally came to her rescue…sort of. "Come on boys, play nice." The woman said with a smirk as she got up from her seat. "Why don't you grab some dishes, taken them into the kitchen." Whether it was a suggestion or an order, Maddison didn't care. She couldn't have gotten up fast enough. She gathered the empty plates within arms reach and quickly fled the room. Behind her, she could hear the not-so-muffled laughter from the guys.  
Luann was already in the kitchen, rinsing off dishes and loading them into the dishwasher. Maddison only felt mildly better now that she wasn't the direct center of attention. "They're just screwing with you, y'know." The blond spoke knowingly. "Wanna give me a hand here?" Maddison nodded, depositing her dishes onto the pile and taking the wet ones as Luann passed them to her, carefully placing them in the dishwasher drawer.

Gemma was in the kitchen now. She paused to watch the girl for a few moments, noticing that she no longer looked as mortified as she had around the table. She could have said something else, but she chose not to. Maddison was trying, she'd settled down nicely and she was helping Luann. "Did you put the dessert in?"

"Of course!" Luann replied with a smile. "Pies are in the oven. Should be about done, too." Maddison looked over her shoulder – uncertainty glinting in her eyes. She'd reacted as well as any new chick did to the guys' hazing.

"Hey, kid. You want me to take you back to the motel?" Gemma asked as Maddison placed one of the last dishes from the sink into the washer. Gemma looked at her expectantly. She looked like a startled animal, one who wasn't sure whether or not to bolt or stay in place. At this point, Gemma fully expected her to take her up on the offer and head right to the door.

She shook her head, a flurry of wavy locks whipping at the air. "Thanks, but I'll stay." Gemma gave her a pointed look, as if to silently ask if she was sure. "I like pie." Maddison said with a shrug. She was playing it cool, Gemma could she her change before her eyes again. Her shoulders squared, she was being completely serious. She wondered if that was the old Madock trait, an infallible stubbornness.

Alright then. "Your call." Was all Gemma could say. She turned to the oven, grabbing an abandoned pair of gloves off the counter top. She carefully pulled the three pies out one by one. Giving them a quick once over, she deemed them appropriate. "Take these out." Gemma carefully placed two of the pies on a large serving tray "They'll forgive you if you've got food." The two older women smirked, but Maddison didn't see the humor in it. She did however leave the room with the pies. Gemma followed close behind her with the last dessert. By the time Maddison had set the pies down on the crowded dinner table, she had done her best to put a poker face on. Even with the guys leering and smirking, she only smiled back. It wasn't entirely genuine, and it was obvious she wasn't completely comfortable but Gemma could tell she was trying.

Maddison didn't change her mind, either. She helped dish the pie and then sat back down. She was just as quiet as she had been before, and Gemma saw she tried to avoid eye contact with certain members. Mainly those who had decided to poke fun at her, but she sucked it up. She replied when spoken to, she didn't take a tone with any of the guys. She suspected the beer might have helped her keep her calm, but Gemma wasn't one to judge. Besides watching her was interesting.

From where she was sitting, Maddison looked like a good kid. She was smart enough to be respectful; she seemed to choose her words carefully. She wasn't out to impress anyone, she wasn't making herself look like a jackass. Gemma didn't see an ounce of hellion in the girl. Of course that didn't mean it wasn't there. It just made her all the more curious about the young woman. What had her crazy bitch of a sister found undesirable enough to kick her out for?

Two hours and twice as many beers later, Clay announced that they needed to get back to the clubhouse. He offered no explanation but she already knew why. Fight night. A fairly regular occurrence. Though she wasn't sure how fast any of them would be eating after that meal, but that was their problem. It was about the time where the crowd would start gathering at the TM gates waiting for entry, and her Old Man wasn't one to let the people down.

As they were cleaning up and getting ready to push off. She spotted Maddison heading towards the door. "Where do you think you're going?"

"Back to the motel." She said quietly.

Gemma let out a sigh. "You planning on walking?"

"Well…yeah." Sure,t he walk back to the motel would take her awhile. Maddison had a few beers in her. Gemma was sure she could handle herself, but on the off chance that she couldn't…she didn't want to open the papers tomorrow to find out that someone had to scrape the girl up off the side of the road.

"Hey, Jax? You mind giving her a lift?" Gemma asked her son strode up to them.

"Where are we going?" Jax asked.

Maddison looked unsure but Jax looked as if he were expecting an answer "Just to the motel."

Jax nodded, giving Maddison a reassuring – and somewhat goofy smile. "Wont be a problem. Come on." Jax turned to leave, and Maddison went to follow. Before she could get two steps away she turned back to Gemma.

For a moment all she did was stare. It looked like she wanted to say something, but just couldn't spit the words out. Finally, the third time her lips move sound actually made it out. "Thanks for um…this. Inviting me to dinner." Maddison paused, averting her gaze. This time, in an even quieter voice she finished off. "You didn't have to."

Gemma rolled her eyes. "I know. Get going before your ride leaves without you."

"Yes ma'm." Maddison replied reluctantly.

* * *

Maddison slowly pulled on her coat, cutting through the dining room and heading towards the open door - attempting to follow in Jax's footsteps. In the dimming light the bikes still gleamed. Harley's lined the the curb, some of the guys were already parked on theirs. Having a laugh and a smoke. Jax stopped at one of the last bikes in the row, picking up the black helmet off the handle bars and holding it out for her. "I just gotta make a stop first, that alright with you?" Maddison was barely paying attention, she was fiddling with the straps on the helmet, undoing the buckle.

"Nope." She shook her head. It was a free ride, and what was she going to do? Order him to take her back to the motel first?

He grinned at her again. Maybe it was the beer talking, and she considered it - but he looked so boyish. It was actually kind of cute. "You ever been on a bike before?" He asked as she finally placed the helmet on her head, carefully snapping the buckle underneath her chin. Had she? Yes. That was awhile ago, in another life. All Maddison did was nod, a pathetic non-verbal response. Jax didn't seem to care much either way. "So," he said as he sat down. "You know you gotta hold on tight then."

And that was exactly what she did.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So what do you guys think? Looking forward to another chapter?


	4. Chapter 4

 

 

 

Her arms were tight around Jax's waist, and that was before they had even pulled away from the curb. The second the bike was in motion she pulled him even closer. She'd spent time around bikes, not a whole lot of time on them. On occasion one of the guys would pick her up from work and take her to the bar, or give her a ride wherever she might have needed to go. She couldn't afford a 'cage' and she couldn't always borrow Richard's car. While feeling the wind against her face and the vibrations coming off of the Harley wasn't entirely familiar, it was welcome.

There was something about being on a bike, all there was was the howling of the wind in your ears and the purr of the engine. It was easy to lose yourself in the moment. For a few minutes Maddison's mind was almost completely blank. No thinking of her dead mother, no thinking about Gemma, the dinner, nothing. That serenity came to an end when the bike turned in at the gates for Teller-Morrow Automotive. One by one, each member parked and dismounted their respective rides. Maddison untangled herself from Jax, who moved beside the bike while she undid the helmet, passing it over to the smiling blonde. The lot was surprisingly full, considering it was getting dark and the garage was closed for the night according to the sign. More and more people came through the gates, yelling and laughing. Some went into what she guessed was the clubhouse while others were crowding around a boxing ring set up by the door - Maddison had noticed that when she'd stopped by the other day. "So what's going on?" She asked as she carefully pulled herself off of the bike.

"Fight night." Jax said with a matter-of-fact tone. "Kinda have to show up for them." For a second Maddison wasn't sure why exactly, his presence was required. Did he fight? Before she could ask her eyes fell onto the leather that covered most of his torso. She was noticing the patch for the first time. He was the Vice President. How had she not noticed that earlier? "You mind sticking around for a bit? I'll still take you back to the motel after." Maddison glanced over her shoulder at the clubhouse, and then back to Jax. Well, what else was she going to do tonight? Sit in her dingy motel room and watch some dumb cable sitcom until the wee hours of the morning? Of course there was the little nagging thought in the back of her mind that reminded her of the last time she had been in an MC clubhouse. She'd lost the only family she'd ever had, and she'd almost lost her life. Somehow still she was really considering his offer.

Maddison had made up her mind. "Do you guys have anything cold to drink?" Not that she needed another beer, but Jax seemed pleased with this answer. Jax casually slipped an arm around her shoulders, slowly steering her towards the clubhouse.

"Yeah, I think we can fix you up with something."

**xxx**

She wasn't exactly sure how it had happened, but she was sitting on the top of a very crowded picnic bench with a lukewarm beer in her hand. Eyes glued to the two men attempting to tear each other's heads off of their necks in the ring. Sitting on one side of her was Juice, and on the other was Chibs. They had been at Gemma's dinner. Chibs had been the one who had wanted to make her crawl under a rock and stay there. Juice well…he was the one with the mohawk and the tribal tattoos.

Maddison flinched as the bald man laid into the other guy, whom she didn't recognize from the dinner. "So they just beat the crap out of each other?" Beside her, Juice nodded. "And you watch?"

The Scotsman beside her raised his beer towards the ring, as if saluting the two fighters. " 'An drink."

" 'An drink." Juice echoed the sentiments.

Jax had in fact fixed her up with that cold drink she'd asked about, and that had been three beers ago. Most of the people at the clubhouse were crowding around the ring outside, but a stragglers were still inside. Jax had introduced her to a couple of people, a prospect, some 'friends of the club' as he had put it. Then he went off to go do his thing. Maddison would have been content with sitting alone and watching the festivities but the world had other plans for her. Juice had found her almost as soon as she'd sat down, and Chibs had come shortly after. The embarrassment that had taken place earlier in the night was all but forgotten. It was like it hadn't even happened.

She nursed her beer, eyes locked on the fingers tangled in a bloody embrace a few feet away. After a few more punches, someone jumped into the ring and separated the men. The two fighters backed off, then pulled each other into a hug, cackling as they went. They made their way off of the stage and were replaced by two new men. One of which, Maddison recognized almost instantly. She'd seen him at the garage, and against at dinner. She didn't recognize the other guy, he hadn't been at dinner or the garage that she'd seen. But admittedly, she was a little more preoccupied with the curly-haired man. Maddison couldn't put her finger on it, but there was something about it. Something about him.

"Atta boy, Tiggy!"

**xxx**

The fight was brutal, and she was eating it up. It didn't last too long. At least, she didn't think it did. Between the beer and the action it was safe to say that she wasn't keeping track of time. One beer had quickly turned into three or four more, Jax was nowhere to be found but truth be told, she hadn't gone looking. After the fight ended in front of her most of the party moved inside of the clubhouse. Some had left after the initial festivities, others disappeared down a long hallway with a partner in hand. But the party didn't let up.

"So, where are you from?" Juice asked, tossing her a look from over his shoulder. At the other end of the pool table the Scotsman cursed under his breath.

"Will ye' just make yer damn move already, boy? Leave the girl alone." There was a slightly more parental tone to his voice. Maddison had been watching the game progress from Juice's side, but the game hadn't actually gotten very far. There was a leggy blonde girl clinging to Chibs, rubbing against him, singing his praises. She didn't look much older than Mads herself, and she wasn't about to pass judgement. She'd seen it before at the old clubhouse parties she'd been to. Who cared, really? Chibs didn't seem to mind and the girl was enjoying herself. She was glad that Chibs had told Juice to tone it down. That would make the 'fifth' personal question he'd asked her in the last forty minutes. Maddison wasn't keen to getting into the details. She was sure that he was a nice guy, or just a good actor - but she didn't really want to go there. Not with him, not with anyone.

Juice muttered something to himself that she didn't hear, and then he set his cue down on the table, lining up his shot. Across the table, the girl was whispering something into Chibs' ear. Or biting it, she wasn't really sure. Whatever it was had the man grinning. Juice took the shot, and it didn't plan out the way he'd wanted. Maddison placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder. It wasn't looking very good.

"Ye know, how about we call it quits? Dun wanna beat ye' too badly." Chibs said with a smirk, placing his pool cue down on the table. "Got some business ta attend to. Don't scare her off." He cast a pointed look at Juice, who rolled his eyes. This only lured a laugh from his buddy. With that Chibs too his leave, he disappeared down the corridor with the blonde girl who had been attached to his side.

Juice looked lost for a moment, as if he wasn't sure what he would do now that he was 'alone' with her. "So do you uh…want another drink?" Maddison actually considered it. She wasn't sure how much she'd had already, probably too much. She'd never really been a big drinker but on occasion she went a bit overboard. Something she'd always regret the next day. "Beer good?" Maddison nodded slowly. Juice turned from the table and disappeared into the small crowd. She thought about following him, but he could probably carry two bottles by himself. That wasn't really her reason though. All of the sudden she was alone in the room. There was no one at her side, trying to get her attention.

She took the time to look around. It felt so…familiar. At the same time, not at all. She didn't know any of these men, she didn't know this MC. She'd only really known one MC before and her time with them had literally ended with bloodshed and death. She wearily eyed the wall, as if expecting to see bullet holes or police tape. Of course, there was none. Suddenly she wasn't feeling as comfortable as she had a few minutes ago. It felt like that dream people had, the one where they were standing in front of a room of people naked. Maddison glanced down to confirm that she was indeed still clothed. She'd felt like this earlier at the dinner, when the guys had ribbed her about how she'd complimented Juice's tattoos. It wasn't a good feeling.

"Whatcha doing over here all by yourself? Finally escape your boyfriend?" Maddison's eyes widened at the sudden voice in her ear. She'd zoned out for a minute there, and had completely missed the fact that she had company at the table now.

Startled and slightly confused by the question "I uh…don't have a boyfriend. He isn't my…yeah." She turned to see Tig standing there. The lighting in the club wasn't so great, but he was close enough for her to make out his features clearly. There were a few small cuts on his face, the side of his lip was split. She could tell there were a few spots that would have one hell of a bruise in a couple hours - but that wasn't nearly the most interesting part. The interesting part was his eyes. They were just so…nice. Scary, too. Tig was a scary looking man. Yet for some reason she didn't take the couple steps back that she should have. Not only because she had limited space in which to move. It felt like a couple minutes had passed before either of them said anything. In reality, it had only been a second or two.

"Good to know." Tig said with a smirk. He moved away, picking up the cue which Chibs had abandoned. "You should tell him that." Was it really that obvious? Apparently. "So, you gonna stand there or are you going to play?" Oh, she had been too busy thinking about how Juice definitely wasn't her boyfriend. She'd expected someone to come up and pick up the other cue that was resting on the table, but Tig just looked at her expectantly. Maddison picked up the cue. Tig went first, then it was her turn. Over her shoulder she heard someone call her name, and a beer appeared on the ledge beside her. Juice had returned, but he didn't look as happy as he did when he'd left. Tig was completely ignorant to his presence. Maddison thanked him for the beer and then after a couple of seconds of deep contemplation, took her shot.

**xxx**

"Girl's good." A voice came from the small crowd that had gathered around them. There were bikers, girls, more girls. An ashtray was sitting on the edge of the table, crumbled bills piling up in it.

"Fucking noticed." Tig growled from the other side of the table. Maddison felt a little proud. It had been two rounds, she'd beaten him pretty badly. She wasn't about to just let him win. Maybe if she'd been sober, but she was so far from that now. She was usually pretty good at pool, but tonight she felt like she was amazing. If she sunk this one, she had the game. If she understood correctly some of the money in that ashtray would be her's too. As she readied herself an older woman appeared at her side, tray in hand.

"Shot for good luck." She said. About five hands shot out and once to grab the shot glasses. Maddison carefully took one with her free hand, careful not to spill too much of it's contents. She didn't bother asking what it was, she didn't real care. She downed it in one swift movement. It burned the back of her throat, but it was a good burn. Maddison turned her attention back towards Tig, who she now noticed was staring at her…pretty damn intently too.

"Come on, Maddison." Juice urged her, he looked like the whole thing had him on the edge of his seat. Across the table Tig told them to get on with it, he had things to do. Or was it girls? Girls to do? She wasn't sure.

Maddison took her final shot.

**xxx**

Her head was killing her. Pain wasn't what had woken her up though. It had been the distinct sound of someone choking, or vomiting. Or both. God everything hurt. The last time she'd been in so much pain…it wasn't something she wanted to think about. Maddison's body lurched forward, her hand flying to her mouth. She froze like that for a moment as the feeling of needing to projectile vomit passed for the time being. The lights were off but the clubhouse seemed kind of bright. Too bright.

Maddison slowly stood up. It was a two step process. First she needed to move forward as much as she could without being sick. Once she was confident that she could move without tossing her cookies. When she'd scooted forward on the seat she felt something warm slid off of her shoulders and down her back. Goosebumps erupted over her skin at the feeling. She temporarily abandoned her quest to find out what the hell that had been. To her right, there a blonde girl who looked…oddly familiar. Maddison squinted as the girl shifted slightly, her head falling backwards. That looked like the blonde girl she'd seen with Chibs. Which would make sense, because the blonde girl was on top of Chibs. If she hadn't been so damn hangover she might have taken the moment to appreciate the sight. The girl was awkwardly straddling the sleeping biker. Had they fallen asleep in the middle of it? Maddison looked. The blonde was wearing a top, which was just barely on…and they were both wearing pants. Well that was good. It would have been awkward otherwise.

To her other side, was Juice. Somehow it didn't surprise her. Chibs' arms had been accounted for and while one of Juice's was currently tucked under his head, the other hung limply at his side. Her best guess was that his arm had been draped over her shoulders. Maddison slowly stood up, wrapping her arms around herself to fend off the sudden chill that seemed to sweep through the room. Only now did she realize that she was missing her top. She still had a bra on, but her shirt was nowhere to be found. Maddison almost didn't want to look down. She was half expecting to see that her pants had somehow disappeared as well, but she figured at some point she'd have to look down anyways.

Amazingly, her jeans were still on. Granted they looked dirtier than they had been when she'd put them on the day before - but they were still on. That had to count for something.

She looked around the room, making sure to move slow enough to avoid getting dizzy. There were people on couches, chairs, on the floor, the pool table, on top of the bar. The sound of retching that had woken her up earlier returned again. Maddison cringed as her stomach churned. She'd far surpassed her 'few drink' limit. She hadn't had that much in awhile. Mostly because she couldn't afford it. Her first couple of parties with Richard and the club had been similar to this, only she was usually made it away fully clothed.

Maddison batted her tangled hair away from her eyes. Hesitantly, she followed the sound of the gagging. Behind the bar there was a woman. A woman who looked as if she had a more exciting night than Maddison herself had. She crossed her arms over her chest, hands slowly rubbing the bare skin. The woman was on all fours, there was a small trashcan beside her but she wasn't doing so well at getting the contents of her stomach into it. "Um, hey." The woman didn't look up from the floor. Maddison carefully shifted one of her feet, using it to nudge at the woman's leg. "Are you okay?"

She had been trying to be nice, or helpful. It was the same thing. This got the woman's attention, but not the response that Maddison had expected. The woman looked up at her, make-up smudged, skin caked in sweat. Her eyes were wide and bloodshot. "Fuck off." She snarled at her. Maddison was slightly taken aback She wasn't feeling so great either, but if she had been in that position she might have come up with something better than ' _fuck off'_. The woman didn't want her help, and Maddison wasn't too keen to give it after that little remark.

Her attentions shifted, which was probably for the best. If she spoke to the woman again she probably would have gotten her face ripped off. Rather than focus on the needs of the other unconscious, or groaning people scattered throughout the clubhouse. She decided to take care of her own. First thing's first, she needed some tylenol or something. Her head felt like she'd spent the night smacking it against the wall, hard and repeatedly. She needed a bathroom, too. In case she ended up like the woman who had just told her to fuck off. Only she didn't want to be puking all over an MC's floor.

At the rate it was going, she probably would. The air smelt of stale booze, sweat, sex, and vomit.

She turned into what ended up being a kitchen, which looked immaculate compared to the rest of the clubhouse; what she had seen anyways. Maddison made her way towards the cabinets. At home she kept medicine in a cabinet above her sink, when she'd had a home anyways. She flinched at the memory, but soldiered on. She found a clean glass in one cupboard, and the search for some sort of medication to alleviate her throbbing skull yielded similar results. She found a partially emptied bottle of extra strength tylenol.

The glass was filled with water from the sink. At this point, she wasn't too worried about whether or not the water was safe to drink. She took a sip, considering draining the whole glass because the cool liquid felt like a god sent miracle in that moment. Maddison quickly retrieved two pills from the bottle, taking one at a time with a slow sip of water. She thought about looking in the fridge for food, but that seemed…invasive. The last clubhouse she had been in hadn't even used their fridge for food. Not that every MC was the same.

From beyond the kitchen she could hear someone wrenching again. She glanced down at the cup of water, still more than halfway full. She took the bottle of tylenol, and reached for a roll of paper towels that had been set beside the sink; then she left the kitchen.

The source of the noise had been the woman who had so elegantly told her to fuck off mere minutes ago. She approached her again, this time as if she were approaching a wild animal; a rabid one ready to bite her head off. When Maddison got close enough she knelt down beside her, being careful to avoid the puddles of vomit. "You're back," The woman didn't look up, but she was obviously aware of her presence.

Maddison didn't say anything. Instead she tore off a few sheets of paper towel, handing them to the woman. She held them out, nudging her shoulder. The woman didn't reach for them, not right away anyways. Maddison wasn't sure if she was being stubborn, or maybe she had somehow offended her by offering her help in the first place. "I've uh…spent a couple nights puking my guts out on the floor before," She spoke weakly, setting the loose sheets of paper towel besides the woman. "I've got some water, and some Tylenol…it's probably better than nothing." Maddison uncapped the bottle of pills before the woman could protest, dropping two into the palm of her hand.

Finally, the woman looked up. She took the paper towel and silently began to wipe around her mouth, then her neck, hands, chest. While the woman cleaned herself up, she took the sparse bit of paper towel that was left and set it over top of the puddle of vomit. She had intended to clean it up but as soon as as she set the paper towel down she snatched her hand away. A couple sheets wasn't going to cut it, and it smelt…well like vomit. It called for a mop, and maybe a bio-hazard outfit. Maddison grimaced.

"I've never seen you before," The woman said as she ran the paper towel over her mouth. "You come with one of the guys?"

Maddison rocked back, settling on her knees. "Yeah, Jax." The woman looked up at here with a look that screamed "Are you serious?" She quickly realized what that look was for. "Not with him like that." Maddison corrected, letting out a sigh.

Whether she believed her or not, Maddison didn't know. She didn't seem to care too much as she quickly moved onto something else. "You got a name?"

"Maddison."

"You got a last name, Maddison?" The woman asked.

Why she wanted to know her last name was beyond her. That didn't stop her from answering. It was an automatic reaction - of course she had a last name. "Madock."

The blonde looked at for for a second, then let out a low laugh. She wasn't sure what was so funny. "Maddison Madock," The woman snickered "couldn't sound more like a cheerleader if you tried." Suddenly the laughter made sense. Maddison cringed, but a tired smile tugged at her lips.

"I can't do a back flip to save my life." That wasn't the first time she'd heard it, and it probably wouldn't be the last. It was one of those names. Even though a few minutes earlier the woman had practically been snarling at her, now Maddison had her chuckling. It was a vast improvement.

"Too bad, you'd be pretty damn popular around here if you could." There was a pause for a moment as she straightened up, leaning against the dirty not-so-stainless steel cupboard behind her. "I'm Crystal, last name's Richter." She looked as if she'd been about to say something else, but Crystal doubled forward. Maddison quickly pushed the trashcan underneath her as the woman began to wretch again. She took the liberty of pulling Crystal's long blonde hair back; even though it was kind of a moot point now.

They stayed like that for about 5 more minutes. Crystal alternated between apologizing, telling her not to pull her hair back too tightly, and throwing up. Maddison for the most part sat there silently, eyes shut and trying to block out the noise.

Around them other people were starting to wake up. She could here footsteps crossing the floor, the occasional cough and curse. No one came over to see if they were alright, but they were all probably too busy from their own hangovers. From what she remembered, which really wasn't much, they'd had one hell of a night.

The one thing that did grab her attention as the sound of a door opening, and the tell-tale click of high-heels against the smoothed pavement. It sounded like the front door opening, since it wasn't coming from behind her. Beside her Crystal's stomach had settled down a bit. The bucket was no longer required, but she was back to wiping her face with the already soiled towel.

"Christ," Maddison's head snapped to the side as a voice echoed through the clubhouse. "This is why you boys can't have nice things." The remark followed by the clicking of high heels. Heels which now entered her line of sight.

"Am I interrupting somethin'?" Maddison flinched. The voice sounded almost amused, but when she looked up to see Gemma standing there, hands on her hips. She wasn't sure if the woman found it funny, or if she was judging the crap out of her. Realistically, it was probably both.

* * *

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Thank you all for reading this update! It means a lot to me that you guys still stick with me even though I'm tragically slow with posting chapters for you :( I love reading the reviews and PM's - and knowing that there are people out there who are interested in my writing is probably one of the most inspirational things to me. Which is pretty cheesy but I assure you, 100% true. As always I would love to get feedback from you guys! If you ever have any comments, or questions, send them my way in either a PM or a review and I will definitely get back to you :)
> 
> Thank you again for taking the time to read this! An even bigger thank you for the people who have stuck with the story even after a freakishly long update drought.


	5. Chapter 5

“Crystal.”

“ Hey, Gemma.” The woman replied, smiling weakly.

 Gemma rolled her eyes. “Go get yourself cleaned up, you look like a train wreck.” The words could have come out as judgemental, if it weren’t for the almost motherly tone she had taken. She didn’t sound like patronizing Crystal for the position that she was in. She had her moments, of course. She could however, be as concerned as she could be cold. 

Her first couple of months in the MC world had been similar. She’d been the girl puking her guts out on the floor a couple of times. The parties hadn’t been quite as grand…but enough illicit substances were consumed to make it seem like it the next day. 

 Compassion was something that John had taught her, once the club had started picking up the interest of a select female population. She’d definitely had a chip on her shoulder, she was with the president, a founding member. Other girls recognized that and she reaped the rewards; and if they didn’t…well she wasn’t always nice. She remembered the conversation, but not what had happened to spur it. Gemma guessed she’d probably said something to a sweetbutt’s face, knowing her it had probably been judgemental as shit. John had pulled her aside and given her a talking to.

 She didn’t like being ‘corrected’, but he insisted. He’d said in some way the other girls were looking up to her, idolizing her. Most of them respected, and in turn she had to respect them just the same. Ultimately it had ended up being a more ‘you catch more flies with honey than vinegar’ type speech, but it had always stuck with her. John had put his foot down on that day, and she recognized it. 

 Women didn’t seem to last too long around the club, the turn over rate was shocking. Very few of the guys had ‘stable’ relationships. If there was a marriage, it almost always ended in a messy divorce. She soon realized that the women needed to stick together, or at least tolerate each other, much like the men did. The MC was very much like a family - and whatever girl wandered through their doors and stuck around for a bit, seemed to get added into the equation by default. That wasn’t to say that Gemma went out of her way to be best friends with everyone; she also didn’t put them down or lord her position over every set of tits that walked through the door. It had occurred to her, that she’d been in the same position as them. At one point, someone could have, hell they probably had called her a sweetbutt. Only she was one of the few who made it to Old Lady status.

She had her moments. Every once and awhile there were a couple of stuck-up bitches that passed through the club, but for the most part she was civil. Tried to be anyways. Unless of course they’d earned anything less. If they had it coming to them…well then they had it coming to them.

Crystal was one of the girls Gemma actually liked. Not a first, she’d seen her rubbing up on Jax and it had left a bad taste in her mouth. When Gemma suggested that she look elsewhere, the girl suggested that she stop being such an over protective bitch. One of the guys had all but pushed the girl out the door before Gemma could get her two cents in. That didn’t stop her from showing up a week later. Her car had been towed to the lot; and after a few moments of heavy silence - Crystal had said that she had been out of line when she’d freaked out. Saying that Gemma was just doing what mother’s do; and apparently that incident with Jax had been a one time event brought on by a bottle of tequila - she wasn’t actually interested in her son after all.

Crystal showed up every so often at the gatherings, she held jobs in at least two establishments that some of the Sons’ frequented. During the day she waited tables at one of the nearby diners, and at night she danced around in lacy thongs at one of the not-so-rundown strip clubs. She knew she was a walking stereotype, but she didn’t seem to care. It paid the bills.

 It wasn’t a surprise to see Crystal there, but Maddison wasn’t a sight that she’d expected. Maddison helped Crystal up, making sure that the woman could actually stand on her own two feet before letting go of her arm. “Do me a favour, if you see the prospect tell him to get the mop out…and get this one a shirt.” The brunette blushed at the remark. Crystal mumbled a quiet sure, and slowly began to make her way around the bar. 

Maddison stood there looking like she wanted to disappear. It wasn’t really a sight that phased Gemma. Besides the girl wasn’t totally naked, she still had her bra on for Christ sake. “It’s nothing I haven’t seen before,” Gemma remarked as she turned away. By the door, she’d left a few bags of groceries. Gemma picked two up, leaving one on the table. “Grab that and follow me.” As she began to walk towards the kitchen, she noticed that there wasn’t another pair of footsteps following her. When she glanced over the shoulder; she saw Maddison still in the same spot with her arms crossed awkwardly over her chest. “I don’t have all day.” Well, she did but…breakfast wasn’t going to make itself. They only had a couple of hours before the garage opened; and the guys did in fact have work to do. Wordlessly, Maddison picked up the other bag and followed Gemma.

—---

She couldn’t help but notice how this was similar to what she’d done yesterday. Minus the fact that then, she had been fully clothed. Somehow she had ended up standing awkwardly in a kitchen while Gemma moved around her fixing a meal. This time she was of considerably less use, given the pounding headache. Crystal had abandoned her at Gemma’s request. Maddison couldn’t help but wish that someone else would intervene. Somehow she felt like she had just been caught after sneaking in past curfew; with the obvious smell of booze on her breath. It was kind of what had happened…only she was an adult, and she had been helping a disheveled woman clean the puke off of herself; while resisting the urge to vomit herself. Still, she could see the similarities. 

“You _can_ scramble eggs, right?” It seemed to be a rhetorical question because Gemma had placed a hard spatula in her hands before she could say anything. Gemma dumped the contents of a large bowl into a crackling pan. Maddison took over from there, granted she was reluctant as hell. The women didn’t speak to each other. Gemma was busy getting everything else together, she did not seem the least bit bothered by the extra body.   

The kitchen was heavy with a tense silence. Maddison kept wanting to say something but she had no idea what to say. She hadn’t meant to stay here, or drink. It seemed a lot like both had happened. Maddison barely remembered what had gone on the night before. She could just vaguely recall dinner and feeling mortified at one point because she was sure she had just offended one of the members. Maddison scrapped the eggs around the pan while Gemma moved around her. She had seen the older woman work yesterday, she obviously knew her way around the kitchen. Something told her that this was a normal occurrence. “Don’t dry them out.” Gemma called over her shoulder.

Outside of the kitchen she could hear the sound of bodies moving, people cursing and coughing. It sounded like everyone was getting their wake up call. 

 —---

In less than half an hour Gemma had managed to put a whole damn buffet out on the bar; once the booze and the miscellaneous bodily fluids had been wiped off of it. Crystal had taken her sweet time with the shirt. By the time she had gotten around to handing it over Maddison was sure that most of the guys had caught a look or two at her. Thankfully most of them were too damn hungover to look for very long. 

It wasn’t long before almost everyone had a plate which Maddison noticed seemed to make Gemma extremely happy. The compliments flew and she accepted each and everyone. 

She had taken the liberty of hanging back in the kitchen. Running out plates and utensils. Truth was Maddison wasn’t sure that she belonged out there. It was funny how familiar it seemed. It was a different club, she had no ties here but…it was a club. Clubs were family. The dynamics were all the same it was just that they rode under a different patch. It was easy for her to picture Richard sitting at the bar with the president, laughing over some dumb joke. Karoline off in the corner surrounded by a few of the other Old Ladies, sharing their gossips and passing around smokes. She could see all of them in the faces of the Sons of Anarchy and it hurt. She’d lost her family and she sure as hell didn’t belong in this one.

So she stayed in the kitchen. 

—---

Eventually Gemma seemed to have grown tired of the daunting. Maddison was propped up against the sink and nursing a cup of coffee when the woman came in with a plate. “You eat anything?” She cocked her eyebrow, free hand on her hip. Maddison tried to avoid her gaze. Her tone sounded so…so much like her mother it was almost eerie. Maybe it was a Madock family trait. Why most of the women in their family were so damn imposing. 

“Don’t just stand there and stare. Just eat, before I give this to one of the guys.” Too much like her mother. Maddison accepted the plate wordlessly. Coffee set off to the side, she began to pick at her breakfast. Even if she didn’t really feel like eating she knew that she’d feel a hell of a lot better with something other than coffee in her stomach. Gemma began the cleanup, keeping a watchful eye on her like she didn’t trust her not to dump the entire plate into the sink. 

She knew Old Ladies took care of their men but Gemma was something else entirely. She didn’t just take care of Clay, from where Maddison stood it looked like she took care of the whole damn club. That wasn’t surprising. There had been a few late nights in her last life where she’d heard women proudly exclaim that they were the backbone to the whole damn club. Sure it was arrogant and cocky, the women didn’t touch club business but they were still damn important. They took care of their men, they took care of each other. They were part of the system. They helped keep everything in line. It had always struck her as amusing, seeing big tough bikes wrapped around the fingers of their wives or girlfriends, hell sometime it was even a sweetbutt who was rubbing them the right way. 

Gemma seemed to thrive off the adoration. Something told her that the dinners and the early morning breakfast buffets were a regular occurrence. She cared. She couldn’t picture her mother ever doing something like this, not for anybody and her grandmother? Forget it. 

Maddison cleared off her plate. It took forever but she did it. Mostly for fear that Gemma might try to force feed her the rest if she set it down with so much as a scrap left on it. 

“You’ve got some interesting decorations.” 

It took her a second to click in to the remark. Was Gemma trying to make conversation? She had spent half an hour working topless in a kitchen, just about everything on display. The older woman was talking about the tattoos, at least she hoped. It slowly occurred to Maddison that other things had been one display that Gemma might have found ‘interesting’

“I uh…thanks.” Maddison reached for the clean stack of plates, standing there doing nothing was making her feel kind of like an idiot. She was also positive Gemma would tell her to put them away, anyway. “I used to work at a shop. I wanted more but…money was tight.” She shrugged. Richard would have done something for free, he’d done her wrists after all. There were a few other artists that she was sure he would have ‘swayed’ to work for next to nothing too, but Maddison had always hated that. She got why the club could get their work cheap or completely free. That had never bothered her. The club had done so much for them after all, it seemed like a fair exchanged. She hadn’t earned it though. Richard put his heart and soul into his work and she didn’t have anything to repay him with. Most of her ideas were put on a back burner until the day she could afford otherwise, at least that was what she told herself. 

To her surprise Gemma looked like she was actually paying attention. Maddison silently thanked the god that she hadn’t asked about the other things. The scars on her chest. Instead Gemma swiftly changed up the topic. “Read your mom’s letter. She was a piece of work, wasn’t she?” Maddison let out a shallow laugh and Gemma cracked a smirk from behind the sink. Gemma had grown up in the same house as Rose, and Karen had been an exact copy. “Shit…can’t blame you for leaving. I did the same damn thing.” Now it was Gemma’s turn to shrug. “Bet you know all about that, though.” Oh she did. In detail. Gemma’s departure had left a hole in the Madock household, one that had never really healed over.

“So you staying in town long?” Something about the question put her on edge. It sounded innocent enough but the Madock’s had always done innocent well. It had come up a few times the night before. 

Maddison deposited the rest of the plates into the cupboard. “Just until I figure out what’s happening next.” It wasn’t like she had many options. She needed a job, a roof that didn’t charge her by the night. She needed to put down roots again. It occurred to her that perhaps Gemma was digging for something. “I wasn’t trying to start anything by giving you that letter. I swear,” Suddenly she feels like she’s a kid and in deep shit again only she doesn’t know why that feeling is there. “I don’t want anything from you. You don’t know me, just like I don’t know you. I wasn’t searching for anything.” The look on Gemma’s face instantly makes her regret speaking. She’d sounded standoffish, defensive. All Gemma had done was ask her a question.

The woman let out a small laugh. As if Maddison had just told her a joke instead of jumping down her throat. “I got it - loud and clear.” Had she just offended her? The floor opening up and swallowing her would have been ideal in this situation. “I know you aren’t here for anything. You’ve made that abundantly clear. I got a feeling you’re a shitty liar anyway.”  

Maddison let out a breathe she hadn’t known that she was holding. Good. At least they were on the same page. 

\-----

Once she had found her shirt Gemma had offered her a lift back to the motel. She had tried to give back the one Crystal had handed her but the guy she had tried to hand it off to, the prospect, had awkwardly told her to keep it. That some of the guys had thought it looked good on her. 

Once she was back at the motel she showered and sank down onto the bed. Bus schedule and wallet in hand. She opened the worn out leather expecting to find a small wad of bills. They’d played some mean pool last night and she’d been up on it. Only…the money wasn’t there. She had been up on it. She had gotten a little too cocky. The crowd and the alcohol had fuelled her, she’d lost what she had to Tig. Now the remnants of the rest of the night were coming back to her and it made her cringe. Every last dollar she had she had put down on that table. 

Unless she could get a bus ticket with promises and off the good will of her fellow man, she knew she was screwed. Maddison let out a loud groan, flopping back against the bed. She had no plan and now she had no money. She’d lost it all playing _freakin’_ pool. 

If somehow her mother was up there watching her, she was sure that the woman was getting a kick out of this. 

 


	6. Chapter 6

Her options were really freaking limited.

Of course she had been stupid enough, and drunk enough to wager every last cent she had to her damn name. Maddison had considered hitchhiking, but only briefly. By the time she’d shoved her clothing back into her bag she had decided against it. She’d heard too many stories - people expecting things from their passengers and all of that nasty shit. She didn’t know how to fight, she didn’t have a gun or anything that could even be remotely considered a weapon. 

She didn’t have any friends, she didn’t want to call on Karoline or any of the other girls. They’d already leant her money; and it wasn’t like she had a bank account they could transfer it too. No way would she ask any of them to come out to Charming to pick up her sad ass. She had family, technically speaking. Maddison hated the idea of going to the garage. She’d tried to make it abundantly clear that she hadn’t come into town looking for hand outs. She didn’t want, or expect, anything from Gemma. The idea of showing up and asking for money didn’t sit well with Maddison at all. 

There was no cash to extend her stay and the woman at the front desk looked way too pissy - Maddison wasn’t about to ask if she could delay payment. She left the motel that day hungover and slightly defeated, but she had a plan. If there was one thing that she had picked up from her mother, Maddison had long since decided that it was her sheer stubbornness. It worked in her advantage too because by the end of the day she had secured a job and temporary lodgings.

——

there was nothing extraordinary about her routine. Maddison had tried to get onto as many shifts at the diner as she could, she had nowhere else to be and nothing else to do anyway. It was exhausting but it was making her money. Usually once her shift was over she made her way back to the shelter. Sometimes she made a beeline from door to door. Others, she would let herself wander. 

Charming was quaint, quiet. It was eerily similar to the world she’d left behind. At first it had found weird but during her late night walks through the park or down main street the strange had started wearing off. Replaced by something more comforting, welcoming. Everyone was nice enough - warm enough. It had that small town charm still intact, something that she appreciated. She had never liked big cities much. She could live in one if she had to but there was just something about a small town.

Even the roar of the harley’s gave her a warm and homey feeling. Even if she turned her head away whenever she heard one coming closer. The Sons of Anarchy had such a presence in the town, as if the foundation of Charming had been built around it. It kept them shielded, protected. She imagined the town grew with the club from their presence in the area. It just made sense. That was how it had worked in her last home. 

Maddison had tried to avoid the club and it’s members as best she could. Which, was proving to be difficult. Everywhere she went there was a bike or a tow truck somewhere within spitting distance. What she remembered of her night with the club hadn’t been bad, aside from the going broke. The guys had all been nice. It wasn’t them she was so much trying to avoid as it was Gemma. She knew that she had no real reason to worry about the woman finding out that she was still in town but Gemma was so ridiculously imposing. She was the president’s Old Lady - the thought of news that she hadn’t exactly skipped yet getting back to her…to Maddison it felt like it would send the opposite message. That she was hanging around for a reason, or worse that she’d been full of shit during any of their conversations. Something told her that Gemma was one of those women in the world that you didn’t want to piss off.

She stayed clear of them as best she could. For about a week she had been successful, too. As far as she was concerned at least. It had been great up until she had traded a shift with a fellow server who had a family emergency that they needed to tend to. It had been going _great._

\---

He didn’t remember a whole lot the next morning. What he did, it was a good night. He had a wad of bills stuffed in his pocket and the memory of how he’d won it still surprisingly fresh.

Tig hadn’t expected to win, not with how that woman was playing him. She had been too stubborn to back out. He didn’t know how long they’d been playing but at one point they had most of the conscious members of the club crowded around that table. 

She’d stripped off her top claiming it was too constricting and way too hot in the clubhouse. That had distracted him for a solid minute or two. Maddison was something. He was only human, after all. She was pretty without trying to be. Her hair wasn’t done up, she was wearing ‘normal’ clothing, her bra wasn’t anything fancy…not much makeup if any at all from where he stood. Everyone stole a glance or two but she didn’t seem to care, she was too focussed on the game.

If she had wanted to distracted him it paid off for that round. He had women clinging to his side and egging him on but he was concentrating on the one across the table from him. She was good at pool, she was a cocky drunk…she was also without a top giving everyone in the room a good look. First the tattoo on her shoulder had called his attention. It was what he had seen first. Before he got a chance to decipher it she turned around and he found something a hell of a lot more interesting than the latin inked onto her back. 

She had nice tits, but it wasn’t even that. It was the scars. Tig knew those from anywhere. It threw him off a little. Some of the other guys had noticed them, too. Maddison didn’t look like the type of person to have scars like that. Not one, sure as shit not two. 

The magic she held over his snapped at the end of the round as he became uniquely aware of how quickly his wallet was emptying. 

—--

He had seen her the next morning helping Gemma in the kitchen. She looked a little skittish, but that was probably just because Gemma was watching her like a hawk. Clay’s Old Lady had that effect on people. Maddison had spent most of her time in the kitchen. At first he’d thought it had been to get away from them. Some girls couldn’t handle the parties. He’d seen more than his fair share walk out the next morning wondering what the fuck they’d done. It wasn’t that, though. She didn’t look out of place at all. The puking, the half naked bodies, the moaning and groaning. It didn’t seem to bother it. It made her a hell of a lot more interesting, too. Tig was sure that he’d never seen her around before.A lotta women passed through those doors but he’d never seen Gemma stick to one like glue. He had no idea how old she was but she looked young. A little too young to be comfortable in a MC clubhouse, a little too young to be sporting scars from a couple of bullets. 

The morning after the party had been the last time he had seen her. Gemma had given her a lift back to wherever she was staying. According to Gemma, Maddison wasn’t sticking around. The girl would probably be out of town by the end of the day. He didn’t think much of it. 

—-

_ A week later _

 

They had gotten a call from Al’s from some woman on her lunch break. Her car wasn’t starting or something like that. He’d grabbed the prospect and the truck and had headed on out there. The woman was waiting inside at the counter, staring down into her cup when they’d gotten here. Hearing the doorbell chime had drawn the attention from the back kitchen because a server had called out “Be right with you!” before he’d even made his way up to the counter.

Tig should have been focussed on the customer. He was usually pretty good with people. At leas the knew how to fake it. He’d fully intended to tend to her needs but that was until he saw a familiar face push past the old worn swinging doors. 

“Oh uh..hi.” Maddison fumbled with the pad in her hand, pulling a pen from behind her ear. “What can I get for you?”

The hell was she doing here? “Here to pick up a car.” Sack was already giving the woman the spiel. “Heard you left town.” Maddison frowned. Clearly she hadn’t. Gemma had sounded so sure that she would split. Yet there she was, wearing a waitresses uniform and trying to take his order. 

“Not yet.” She didn’t seem too thrilled about it either, he noted. “You want anything to go?” Even an idiot would have picked up on the fact that she didn’t seem to eager to get into it either.

“Sure, doll. Two coffees would be great.” 

He couldn’t help but wonder if Gemma knew - or cared that the woman was still hanging around. 

—--

That night he’d mentioned it after church. Just off hand to Juice to get the guy going. Later that night he had seen her again. Not at the diner but on her way somewhere. He hadn’t meant to follow her but it had quickly ended up that way. She wasn’t heading towards the motel. In fact that direction she was going there wasn’t much more than a convenience store, a church, and a women’s shelter.

The route home took him that way and almost every night he caught her walking back to wherever she was staying. After the first few nights he decided it the was the women’s shelter. Unless she had a piece of realty in a back alley - she sure as shit wasn’t staying with Gemma.

He felt kind of bad. She hadn’t meant to stay in Charming from the sounds of things, yet she was picking up crazy hours at a diner and sleeping in a shelter. What did she have to stick around for? Unless she had dreamed of picking up shitty hours at a small town diner. Unless she was working for a reason. Why would anyone sleep at a women’s shelter unless they had to? He remembered the wad of cash she had handed over at the end of the night. Most of which was already gone, he had dues to pay and other shit to take care of. 

—--

Instead of heading straight home that night he went to the diner. It had been at least a week since he had first seen her at the diner. By now he figured if she was still in town, she would be getting ready to head home for the night. It was stupid but he still felt bad. Tig Trager wasn’t the sympaethic type by any means but he did have a soft spot for women. Right or wrong. Couldn't stand seeing them hurt, struggling. While Maddison didn’t seem to be ‘hurt’ in any way that he could tell, he was pretty sure she was struggling. People didn’t just bail on plans like that, she hadn’t had much of a reason to stay in Charming from the sounds of things. She was sleeping at a shelter for christ’s sake. Something about that was doing his head in. 

Maddison was wiping down the counter when he had gotten there. The place was pretty much dead, another server was mopping the floors; which he attempted to be mindful of as he made his way through.

“I’ll be with you in a sec-“ She stopped dead in her tracks when she looked up from the faux granite. “Hi. Can I get you something?” To her credit, her recovery was quick.

Tig shrugged as he pushed himself down onto one of the cheap padded stools. “Nah I’m good.” He’d eaten a shitload of greasy tacos earlier, adding anything else to that mix was just tempting fate. The menu hadn’t been the reason why he’d made the detour anyway. The menu wasn’t making him feel guilty. “Was wondering if you had a second? I wanted to talk to you about something.” 

If he didn’t have her full attention before, he sure as shit had it now. Maddison’s eyes flew from him, to the guy who was mopping the floor, then back to the service window. The guy handling the mop had also stopped. Tig rolled his eyes. Why did she look like she was expecting him to reach over the counter or something? 

“I uh, yeah. I’ve got a minute.” Maddison went back to wiping off the counter in what he assumed was a weak ass attempt to avoid any and all eye contact with him. 

“Not gonna be long I just wanted to stop by to give you something.” To accentuate his point, he reached down into the pocket of his jeans. That seemed to get her attention again. 

The woman didn’t look pleased when he produced the cash. In fact if anything she looked startled. He hadn’t exactly been expecting her to throw herself at him and thank him for saving her from this dump, but he hadn’t expected her to just stand there like he’d placed a severed head on the counter. “That should be most of it. Give or take a few bucks.” Tig said with a shrug. It wasn’t technically her money because he’d spent that but it was the roughly the same amount - which was all that mattered in the grand scheme of things. 

Maddison placed the cloth on the counter top, crossing her arms defensively over top of her chest. “What’s that for?” and when she asked him that Tig really did roll his eyes. He couldn’t help it.

“Because I robbed you blind at the party.” 

Maddison scoffed at him. “You won it.” He couldn’t help but notice that she wasn’t moving any closer to picking the cash up. 

  
“Yeah and wouldn’t have taken it if I’d known that you were gonna end up broke.” There was something amazingly familiar with how quickly her moods flashed in her eyes. Something that very much reminded him of Gemma. 

“I’m not broke.” Maddison pressed on.

Tig let out a laugh. “Oh yeah? You sleeping at the shelter because you like the scenery?” Oh the look that got him. She looked like she wanted to say a lot of things to him. Instead she opted to stare him down. There was little doubt in his mind that she would get tired of that, but unfortunately he needed some fucking sleep. “Just take the money.” Tig pushed the bills further across the counter top before pulling himself up. He didn’t cast her so much as another glance before turning away. He already knew she was glaring daggers. A smile did grace his features as he heard someone, the guy with the mop, he assumed ask if Maddison was actually broke. To which she quickly let out a snappy sounding ‘No!’ 

He left the diner feeling pretty damn pleased with himself. The money had been returned to it’s rightful owner and if it went as he planned it, the guilt he was feeling over her living arrangements would subside and he could go back to his life. Business as usual. 

Business as usual until he had arrived at the garage the next morning. Juice had wasted no time waving the envelope in his face. Someone had left it attached to the front gate with a hair tie. ‘Tig’ was scrawled out messily in blue ink. Somehow he knew what was in the envelope before he even had it in his hands. Tig pulled back the flap, face completely deadpan.

“Son of a _bitch._ ”

Juice on the other hand looked completely dismayed as he pulled the contents of the envelope out. “Shit man, I wish someone would leave me a few hundred bucks.”

Tig grunted, shoving the bills back in. Never in his life had the sight of money with his name on it made him feel so shitty. Then again, there was a first time for everything. 

 


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy New Years, guys! I hope that the holidays were good to you all. Here's my slightly belated Christmas gift to you all :)

 

She had thought about keeping the money. It wouldn’t have been used, getting a ticket out of town when you didn't really have any plans or a particular destination in mind felt ill advised. She could have just as easily kept it stashed in the bottom of her bag. It had surprised her that he’d been so adamant that she take the money back. Why would he care about some random chick he didn’t really know? It wasn’t like she walked around town with a big cardboard sign that had _‘Tig took my money.’_ in big block letters. 

Leaving it at the gate felt like a good thing to do. He had won it, and it had been her own damn fault for being dumb enough to lose it in the first place. The money was left at the garage for someone to find, and she went about her business. 

When Maddison had arrived at work the next day the line cook wasted no time shoving a now grease stained envelope into her hands. Tig’s name was scratched out but something else had been written underneath. _‘Keep it._ ’ She wasn’t sure how to explain it, why someone was leaving a few hundred bucks for her at her work. It did seem a little suspect. That night she trekked out to the garage, again leaving the money at the gate. 

Apparently he was as stubborn as she was because it didn't end that night. Much like the previous day, the money was waiting for her at work by the time she got there. This continued for three more days, back and forth. She got that he was trying to do something nice. Why he was doing it was still a mystery but every day themoney came back to her hands, the more she got a little more ticked off about it. She didn’t want help. Not from him or anyone else. She had gotten a job, she was making it work. On the fourth morning when she had gotten to the diner to find a envelope, now featuring a note, there waiting for her in her locker Maddison was done. If he was going to keep it up, she was going to make sure he didn’t have any money to send back.

On her way back home from work she stopped by the little pizza joint on mainstreet. She couldn’t eat diner food all the time, after all. It wasn’t something Maddison had planned but when she was at the cash buying herself a slice it just hit her like lighting. At first the kid behind the cash looked at her in disbelief when she placed the order, but when she pulled out the money…those teenagers had a quick change of heart. Especially after she had set aside the tip for them, as well as the poor soul who would have to deliver the food. 

 

 

———

 

He’d been enjoying the night. Having a smoke a nursing a beer, watching a crow eater attempt to rub up on Chibs. He’d been trying to make the hard choice about whether or not to head to the dorms or get his ass home when Juice walked through the door. Literally up to his eyes in pizza boxes. 

They’d been talking club business not ten minutes before and no one had called for food. They were too broke for that shit. “The hell is that?” He cocked his head to the side while Juice placed the boxes down on the counter. The other guys, and the odd chick practically pounced on them like they hadn’t seen food for days. 

“Special delivery. It’s already paid for, from a friend of the club or something.” Juice had barely gotten his sentence out before shoving a piece of pizza into his mouth. 

Clay looked at the boxes skeptical. “We piss anyone off lately?” and Juice choked on his slice.

“When do we not?” Tig was still trying to figure out why the fuck anyone would send them this much pizza. Juice wasn’t dead yet and no one else was gagging. The grease was alluring but something was rubbing him the wrong way. Then it hit him when one of the crow eaters shifted one of the boxes off the pile. It had a recipe stuck to it. “You’ve gotta be shitting me…” 

No one got an explanation as he stood up. Abandoning the food, his brothers, and the beer. Not before stopping to knock the pizza out of Juice’s hands as he walked by. “Oh come on, man!” The other complained but Tig wasn’t listening, he had more important things to do.

 

———

 

He was lucky. He’d caught her just before she made the turn to the shelter. The pizza place was on her way back, she probably passed it every day. If she’d already been back at the shelter there wasn’t anything he could have done. Showing up at a women’s shelter pissed off demanding to see one of them? Yeah, that wasn’t going to go very well for him. 

The harley crawled along the side walk, keeping pace with her. Maddison didn’t so much as look his way. It wasn’t until he spoke that she so much as glanced at him. “What the fuck was that for?” Now that, that got her to stop.

The look on her face screamed oblivious but he knew that they were already on the same page. “What?” She adjusted the strap of her purse on her shoulder. “You don’t like pepperoni?” A small smile tugged at her lips but it vanished as quickly as it had appeared. No surprise there.

He didn't get it. Why couldn’t she just take the money and be happy about it? She obviously needed it, so why all the back and forth shit? Wasn’t like it was blood money or something. 

“I was trying to help you out.” Now the harley had pulled to the stop and he was throwing his leg over. “Why you being such a pain in the ass?” She had won, technically. It wasn’t like he could return the pizza - which was probably gone by now anyway. The money was gone and he couldn’t do anything about it.

“I didn’t want your help.”

“Yeah,” Tig rolled his eyes. “You made that pretty freakin’ clear.”

Maddison turned went to turn away from him, but he wasn’t letting her off just yet. “Look I just wanted to help. There’s no way you’re staying at a shelter by choice.” and if she wanted to leave, that had kept her in place. The woman looked a little less defensive now. Not much, but enough to make him feel that she wasn’t about to go for his eyes. 

“Why do you care so much?” She asked with a surprisingly less amount of snark than he had anticipated. That was a good question. Why did he care so much about it? He was coming up blank on that one. “Doesn’t matter since the money’s gone now. Goodnight, Tig.” Now Maddison did turn away from him and if he hadn’t been annoyed before he was now. He couldn’t let her have the last word on this. He wasn’t letting her win.

He hadn’t planned it but every step she took he could feel himself panicking a bit internally. No fucking way was she wining. “You can stay at my place!” Tig blurted out. The words seemed to echo down the quiet street. Maddison froze in her tracks. He hadn’t actually thought about it, there was no train of thought attached to it. It had just kind of happened. 

“You want me to stay at your place?” Maddison repeated slowly, like she was trying to process what he’d said. That was a fair response - he was trying to process it himself. 

“Just until you get back on your feet, or do whatever it is you’re trying to. You wouldn’t need to pay me.” As soon as the words left his mouth he realized that he’d said the wrong thing. Tig quickly jumped on the defensive. “I didn’t mean it like that,” Christ, he hoped she hadn’t taken it the way that he thought that it had sounded. “Look I’ve got an extra room and I’m hardly there anyway…If I am it’s later at night and you work insane hours. You’d barely see me. if you wanna give back or some shit you could clean up a bit, cook, or whatever.” 

He would have preferred a snappy retort over the minute of silence that he was getting. She hadn’t run away, nor was she flipping him off. In truth Tig wasn’t sure who he was trying to convince with his speech. Maddison, or himself. He didn’t know much about the girl if anything at all. She had tattoos, scars, and was kind of an irresponsible drunk. All in all she seemed alright. She seemed normal. He sure as shit had worse in that house in the past. He didn’t remember the last time he had a fucking roommate though, last time he’d lived with the a girl it had to have been when he’d had his old lady around. That had gone over so well. 

It felt like it was way too wait to take the offer back now. If she wanted to stand there all night he could, Tig didn’t particularly want to but if needed he could power through it. “Will you at least think about it?” Since now he was, too. She was staying at a women’s shelter. It wasn’t a particularly large one as far as he knew and it probably catered to the other counties - other people would need the beds sooner or later. It wasn’t the happiest place in the world either. 

After a freaking eternity she finally decided that he was worthy of an answer. “I’ll think about it.” Maddison said with a small nod of her head. It wasn’t entirely convincing, but she sounded just sincere enough that he didn’t press the issue anymore. She could have just as easily told him to screw off instead of giving him an actual answer. This seemed promising from where he was standing. 

Tig had no interest in tempting the fates. If he wanted things to go his way, he couldn’t push anymore than he already had. This was one of those rare times when leaving something alone was not only the correct course of action - but the one that he was going to take. His work there was done, and it was probably for the best that he left before Maddison changed her mind. “You know where to find me, doll.” He also knew where to find her - but saying that out loud was kind of creepy. Even for him. 

“Yeah…have a good one.” Quiet but still civil. He’d take it. This had gone so well. Tig flashed her a small smile as the bike came to life. 

Maddison had almost smiled back. At least, it looked like she had tried. “You too, doll.” The words were dripping with the signature Trager charm. It wasn’t like it was going to hurt anymore than offering her a room at his place could have. It had been impulsive but he had never been much of a thinker anyway. Tig had to hand it to her; spending the money the way she had was pretty damn clever. Part of him was actually hoping she would take him up on the offer. Not only because in his own way he would be winning their little pissing contest, but she seemed like a decent gal. He didn’t want her being half a step away from being homeless on his account. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! As always, thank you for the kudos and comments. It means the world to me that others are enjoying this story as much as I enjoy writing it! This is a bit of a turning point chapter for me and I'm pretty excited about it. I'm a little bit biased but I think that things are going to get *good*.

**Author's Note:**

> If you can take a minute to leave a review I'd really appreciate it. I would love to know what you think! Good or bad, reviews and messages are the best type of motivation for me :)


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